You cannot be serious

I'm deeply troubled by the number of people telling me that they're going to make the steak and kidney pudding without the kidney.

I would fight to the death to defend anyone's right not to eat offal and not be called fussy or pathetic but, really, it's a huge shame not to even have a few morsels of kidney in this. Fine! Don't use two kidneys - just one will do. But none at all? Then it's just a stew in fancy dress.

If you have small children and think they will make a fuss just chop the kidney up small and don't tell them what's in it. If they give you the sly eye and ask if there's kidney in it, just flat out lie. Say it must be a bit of mushroom.

And it really, really won't make your house smell like a nursing home. With the thyme and bay and garlic and then cooked for four hours it will just smell totally luxurious. Kidney doesn't really taste like kidney when it's been stewed long and hard like this - and you can trust me because I absolutely will not eat kidney in any other form, even devilled, I think it's really nasty. But it does add something very essential to the overall ambience of the pudding.

But, whatever. It's your dinner.