Tip: Venison is very a very healthy meat to eat, particularly if it is free range as the animals consume berries, grasses, herbs and nuts. It’s low in fat and cholesterols and packed with vitamins and iron that is good for your body. Have a chat with your butcher and find out where they source their meat. It is important they are using a good supplier that you can trust. 

Hello again foodies! How did you get on with last month’s recipe, the Pan Roasted Duck?? Pretty tasty, wasn’t it?

If you enjoyed the Duck you’re going to love our recipe this month……

It’s starting to get a little cooler and the evenings are closing but it’s not all bad news! There’s a whole bunch of new ingredients in season and this month we have a beautiful winter warmer for you to try out. All the ingredients our chefs have chosen for you are perfectly in season this month and it’s the ideal time to use them in your cooking. They all pair together beautifully to make this a cracking dish.

When we’re working in the kitchen we’re always thinking ahead to what might be coming down the line and then plan our recipes to suit the season. If you’ve got a special occasion on the way why not tell us about it so we can come up with something amazing for you?

Ingredients:

For the Venison:

• 1 loin of venison, approx. 1kg
• 15g juniper berries
• 2g cloves
• 10g coarse sea salt
• 7g coarse black pepper
• 2g pink peppercorn
• 5g chopped fresh thyme
• 5g chopped fresh rosemary

For the Celeriac Purée:

• 500g peeled, chopped celeriac
• 50g salted butter
• 50g single cream
• 3g sea salt
• 2g coarse black pepper

For the Crispy Kale:

• 50g rapeseed oil
• 500g kale, roughly chopped
• 3g coarse sea salt

Fig & Red Wine Jus:

• 100g onion, diced
• 10g garlic, crushed
• 100g wild mushrooms
• 5g chopped fresh thyme
• 40g redcurrant jelly
• 200ml good-quality red wine
• 50g chicken stock (venison if possible)
• 300g fresh figs, cut in half and roasted at 180C for 20mins
• 15g salted butter

Method:

1. For the venison, trim off any sinew, allow to come to room temperature. Blitz all the dry rub ingredients together in a food processor, rub ingredients all over and set aside.
2. Heat a pan until it is smoking hot, add 15g of rapeseed oil and sear the venison on all sides. Roast in the oven at 180C using a meat thermometer, for medium rare you want to hit 55C.
3. On the hot pan, add onions, garlic & mushrooms, cook until soft, add wine & stock and reduce by half, pass through a fine sieve, add jelly and figs and reduce by a third, finish with butter.
4. While the venison is in the oven place a pan of water on to boil, add the celeriac and cook until tender. Blitz into a purée adding the butter & cream, season to taste.
5. Rest the venison for half the cooking time, while the venison is resting, heat the remaining oil and fry the kale in batches until crispy but not coloured, season with salt.
6. Carve the venison and serve over the purée, drizzled with the rich jus, and topped with the crispy kale.

Say Hello!

Best of luck with the recipe we hope you enjoy cooking it and enjoy eating it even more!! If there’s a specific recipe you’d like our chefs to create for you send us a little message with the details – they love a good challenge and experimenting with different ingredients so don’t be scared!!

See you all next month……