Serves 4
Ingredients
Roasted venison
4x 120-150g boned loin of venison
25g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
Sprig of rosemary, plus extra leaves to garnish
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Roast mini potatoes
800g mini potatoes, rinsed
3 tbsp duck or goose fat
2 small garlic cloves, peeled and finely crushed
4 sprigs of thyme, picked
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Roast beetroot
600g beetroot (a mixture of baby and regular size)
4 tbsp caster sugar
4 sprigs of thyme
4 garlic clove, peeled
4 tsp sea salt
A few dashes of sherry vinegar
Spiced honey sauce
½ tsp lavender
½ tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp Szechuan peppercorns
60ml sherry vinegar
25g unsalted butter
½ tsp sea salt
200ml runny honey
Squeeze of lemon juice
Spiced poached pears
500ml water
185g caster sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
2-3 star anise, lightly crushed
2 cinnamon sticks
3 pears
Method
Roasted mini potatoes
First, roast the potatoes. Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Melt the duck fat in a saucepan, then add the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper.Take the pan off the heat. Place the potatoes in a roasting tray, pour over the duck fat mixture and toss to coat. Roast the potatoes in the hot oven for about 45-60 minutes, until they are golden brown and cooked through.
Roasted beetroot
Next, prepare the beetroot.Wash the beetroot and trim off the stalks. Place the baby beetroot and regular beetroot in two separate pans. Add half the sugar, thyme, garlic, salt and a dash of vinegar to each pan. Simmer for about 30-45 minutes until the beetroot are tender. (The baby beetroot will naturally take less time to cook). Drain and leave them to cool. When cool enough to handle, peel the beetroot and set aside.
Spiced honey sauce
For the spiced honey sauce, toast the lavender for a few seconds in a dry hot pan. Tip in the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and Szechuan peppercorns and toast for a few more seconds until the spices release their oils and fragrance. Pour in the sherry vinegar and boil it until it has reduced to a sticky glaze.Add the butter, salt and honey and bring back to a simmer. Continue to simmer until the sauce has reduced by two thirds to a syrupy consistency.Strain it through a fine sieve and discard the spices.Season to taste with a little squeeze of lemon juice. Set aside until ready to serve.
Poached pears
For the poached pears, put the water, sugar, lemon juice and spices into a wide pan. Stir to dissolve the sugar then bring the syrup to the boil.Peel and cut the pears into wedges, then gently lower them into the syrup. Cover the pears with a cartouche – a dampened piece of baking parchment roughly cut to the diameter of the pan. Simmer gently for about 8-10 minutes until the pears are tender.Gently reheat before serving.
To serve
When ready to serve.Thinly slice one regular beetroot into round discs and set aside. Add the remaining beetroot pieces to a frying pan with the spiced honey sauce.Toss to coat. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently, until warmed through.Take the pan off the heat.
To cook the venison, heat the butter and oil over medium heat in a heavy-based pan. Season the venison pieces and add them to the pan. Sear them until golden brown all over, basting them frequently with the melted butter.Cook the meat for about 6-10 minutes, depending on their thickness, until cooked to medium rare. Remove the venison to a warm tray and let the meat rest for a few minutes, while you reheat the pears, sauce and beetroot.
Drizzle a little spiced honey sauce over warmed plates. Thickly slice the venison and place them on the centre of the plates. Arrange the spiced beetroot, beetroot discs, roast mini potatoes and poached pears around the venison. Garnish with rosemary leaves and serve immediately.