Beyin Salatasi

Beyin Salatasi is a Turkish meyhane dish made with gently poached lamb brains, plenty of parsley and spring onions, and a sharp lemon, vinegar and olive oil dressing. The preparation is deliberately simple. The brains are soaked first, then poached whole with bay leaf, peppercorns and lemon zest before being cooled and sliced.

The richness of the brain is really the point here, so almost everything else works in opposition to it: vinegar, lemon, raw garlic, herbs and onions. What sounds like an extremely rich plate ends up surprisingly fresh and acidic.

Ingredients

For the brains

• 4 lamb brains, about 325 g total

• ¾ tsp salt, divided

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 4 bay leaves

• 5 black peppercorns

• Zest of 1 lemon

• 1 litre water, plus another 1 litre for soaking

For the dressing

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• 2 garlic cloves, pounded to a paste

• ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper

To serve

• 3 bunches flat-leaf parsley

• 1 bunch spring onions, finely sliced

Method

Soak the brains
Dissolve ½ tsp salt in 1 litre cold water.
Gently place the lamb brains in the salted water and soak for 30 minutes. Carefully clean away any remaining blood from the nerve endings without damaging the delicate brains. Remove from the soaking water.

Poach the brains
Add 1 litre water to a large saucepan along with the apple cider vinegar, bay leaves, black peppercorns, remaining ¼ tsp salt and lemon zest.
Gently lower in the brains one at a time, arranging them in a single layer so they aren't sitting on top of each other.
Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered over medium heat for 30 minutes, skimming away any froth that rises to the surface.

Cool
Remove the saucepan from the heat and leave the brains in the poaching liquid for 5 minutes.
Carefully lift them out with a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate and allow to cool for another 10 minutes.

Make the dressing
Combine the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, pounded garlic and black pepper in a small bowl. Mix well.

Assemble the salad
Pick the parsley leaves and combine them with the finely sliced spring onions.
Slice the cooled brains into strips approximately 1 cm thick and arrange them over the herbs.
Scatter the remaining parsley and spring onion mixture over the brains, drizzle generously with the dressing and serve.