Lamb Heart
The chef who loves it | Flying Fig's Karen Small
Got heart | The Toast special ($14), served with a watercress salad and Ritz Cracker, not only features the underutilized heart, it also uses the lamb liver for a bottarga, which is cured for four months and grated. "It's a beautiful umami sensation in your mouth," says Small. "It's salty and sweet. It's got creamy. It's got a bright zing to it."
Lamb chops | While the idea of eating the ticker of Mary's little companion may make your stomach turn, the dish actually honors the lamb, Small says. "It's out of respect for the animal to use the whole animal who gave its life to us," she says.
Keeping pace | If you like lean meat, you'll enjoy the heart. "It doesn't have any strong flavors to it," Small says, adding there are some iron characteristics typical of organ meats.
Buttered up | Small likes that chefs Joe and Jennifer Horvath make the dish a bit indulgent with the house-made butter and Ritz Cracker. "It imparts a little of the richness that the heart doesn't otherwise have."
Toast, 1365 W. 65th St., Cleveland, 216-862-8974, toastcleveland.com
