Instructions: This is a slightly simplified version of a recipe from the bible of French cookery, Cuisine et vins de France, by Curnonsky, the French gastronome and bon viveur born in 1872.

Skin 8 lambs kidneys, split them in half and core, keeping the halves in pairs.

Mix 200 g minced pork or chicken with 1 small egg yolk, and a pinch of quatre-epices (nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and pepper). Have ready 200 g pate de foie. Remove rinds from 4 rashers of bacon and cut them in half.

Take each pair of kidney halves and put a thick layer (about 1 cm) of the mince mixture on the inside of one half and a thick layer of the pate de foie on the other. Sandwich the stuffed halves together gently, wrap in half a bacon rasher and secure with one or more toothpicks. Lay the bacon and kidney parcels in a lightly oiled dish which can go from oven to top of the stove and bake in a very hot oven for 10-20 minutes or until cooked through.

Transfer the parcels to a heated serving dish and put the baking dish on a hot plate. Deglaze the dish With 100 mL brandy and boil hard to reduce.

Thicken with 100 mL creme fraiche or sour cream (or use evaporated skim milk mixed with a little cornflour), taste and season if necessary and pour over the kidneys. Serve.

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