Venison, swede and blackberries
Venison is easy to get hold of now and this lovely seasonal dish makes the most of it.
Ingredients
- 1 small swede, cut into 1cm/½in cubes
- 150g/5½oz unsalted butter
- 200g/7oz venison loin
- 1 bunch thyme, leaves picked
- 1 bunch purple sprouting broccoli
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 banana shallots, finely chopped
- 200ml/7fl oz port
- 500ml/18fl oz chicken stock
- 250g/9oz blackberries
Method
Put the swede in a saucepan and just cover with water. Add 100g/3½oz of the butter and season with salt and pepper. Boil until the swede is tender or until the water has evaporated. Drain, if necessary, and crush with a fork.
Season the venison with salt and pepper. Heat a frying pan and add the remaining butter. Add the venison and thyme. Fry for 3–4 minutes or until the meat is cooked to your liking. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the shallots. Fry gently until soft then add the port and cook until the volume of liquid is reduced by half. Add the stock and reduce again until you have a sauce consistency. Add the blackberries and cook for 1–2 minutes.
Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and blanch the broccoli for 2 minutes, then drain. Drain on kitchen paper. Heat a frying pan and char the broccoli.
To serve, slice the venison. Divide the swede between serving plates, add the broccoli, top with venison and finish with the sauce.
