VENISON SALAD WITH APPLE, CELERIAC AND HAZELNUTS Gill Meller, River Cottage
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f I’m up early and I walk quietly through the woods below our house I will quite often see deer. Recently I came face-to-face with a young roe buck, frozen between the laurel and the cord wood. There was a fleeting meeting of eyes, and for a fraction in time, a motionless embrace. All before its nimble frame broke instantly away, barrelling off through the trees and scrub. I’ve a lot of respect for these magnificent animals, both in life in the wood and in death in the kitchen. Truly wild venison is a wonderful meat. I know that wild shot deer, whether fallow, sika or roe, will have led a completely natural and healthy life. A life in which man has had little or no intervention whatsoever. At River Cottage we cook venison throughout the winter months. One of my favourite ways to eat venison is as a tasty carpaccio. The loin is seared in a hot pan for a few moments before being sliced and served more or less raw, with flaky salt, lemon juice, olive oil and capers. It’s exquisite, refined and delicate. At the other end of the culinary spectrum, but no less delicious, would be my venison stew scented with orange and bay. It’s a foil to the darker days of winter, a fuel. This salad falls somewhere between those two favourites, and is perfect in January. It’s beautifully coloured and textured, and is very simple to put together: everything is cooked in the same pan. Serves 2 Ingredients
1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil 150g peeled celeriac, cut into roughly 2cm chunks A sprig of rosemary 2 small eating apples, such as Russets 150g venison loin, trimmed A handful of hazelnuts (about 25g), lightly bashed 50g bitter leaves, such as radicchio or chicory 1 tsp thyme leaves Sea salt and black pepper
For the dressing 1 tsp English mustard 1 tsp caster sugar 2 tsp cider vinegar 2 tbsp extra virgin olive or rapeseed oil Method
1 Place a large non-stick frying pan over a mediumhigh heat. Add the oil and, when hot, add the celeriac and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 3–5 minutes, turning the celeriac regularly. 2 Meanwhile, quarter the apples, core them, then cut each quarter in half again. Season the venison loin all over. 3 Push the celeriac to one side of the pan. Add the venison and put the apple pieces next to it. Cook for 5 minutes, then flip both the venison and apple pieces over and cook for another 5 minutes (give the celeriac a little stir every now and then so it doesn’t catch). This will give you medium-rare meat. Remove the venison to a board to rest. 4 Add the bashed hazelnuts to the pan and give it a good shake to mix everything. Cook for a few more minutes (the celeriac should still be a little al dente) then remove and allow to cool a little. 5 For the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. 6 To serve, shred the bitter leaves and arrange them over a large platter. Scatter over the warm celeriac, nuts and apples. Slice the venison thinly and arrange this on top. Sprinkle over the thyme then trickle over the mustardy dressing and serve. Recipe taken from River Cottage A to Z, published by Bloomsbury, available from rivercottage.net Bridport Times reader offer: Get £20 off Friday and Saturday night dining in January and February when you quote BTDINE20. For more details and to book see rivercottage.net or call Tamsyn in the Events Team on 01297 630302. gillmeller.com bridporttimes.co.uk | 47