Seaneen's Sunnyside Kitchen

I’m lucky enough to have a very kind friend Bronagh, who’s husband enjoys hunting.  She never arrives empty handed and on a recent visit brought me some delicious venison.

Venison is one of the healthiest meats you can eat.  This recipe uses meat that requires long slow cooking.  Other cuts of venison like the loin need to be served rare or else they’ll become tough.

When you have a really great ingredient like venison you don’t need to do a lot to it.  About 10 minutes prep at the start and the oven does all the work for you.   I love this served with greens, and velvety butter bean mash.    It’s also fantastic with mashed potatoes or crusty bread to mop up all the delicious gravy.

1kg Venison (cut into 3-4cm chunks)

1 Large Onion (peeled and roughly chopped)

2 Carrots (peeled and roughly chopped)

2 Parsnips (peeled and roughly chopped)

2 Stalks of celery (cut into chunks)

250ml Red wine (optional, but replace with the same amount of stock if not using wine)

750ml Beef stock

3 Tbsps Plain flour

25 Grams Butter

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Tomato purée

1 Tbsp Dried thyme

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Add the flour, salt and pepper to a plate and mix. Toss the chunks of venison in the seasoned flour
2. In an oven proof dish heat the oil and butter. Cook small batches of the venison chunks being careful not to overcrowd the pan so that the are sealed
3. Remove the venison and set to one side. Add all the vegetables (I like to keep them chunky) and tomato puree for 5 minutes stirring occasionally
4. Add the wine and cook for a further 5 minutes to allow the alcohol to burn off. Stir well to deglaze the pan, then add the thyme and beef stock cover with a lid and move to oven (this can be cook stove top, but I think then gives a more even heat)
5. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees, and cook for one and a half to two hours until the meat and vegetables are tender