Wednesday 20 February 2013

Leon's Venison Casserole Recipe

Last weekend I went home back to Kent and the countryside, on my trip back up to London my mother sent me off packing with a joint of venison to remind me of home.

So I found this recipe in the Leon Family and Friends cookbook, I couldn't recommend the recipe or the book more, it has some really easy recipes with quite simple ingredients.

So here's how to make this...


From a hunk of meat like this...


You will need:

800g venison (or try pheasant/pigeon/beef/lamb)
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
125ml red wine (small glass)
400g tin of tinned tomatoes
4tsp ground cumin
1tsp chilli powder (or to taste)
1tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp dried oregano
20g dark chocolate (optional)
2-4 potatoes depending on size, peeled and sliced (I used 3 medium sized baking potatoes)
50g cheddar cheese, grated
Melted butter to glaze

You should do this:

1. Fry off your garlic and chilli pepper in a big saucepan (or a casserole if you have one that can go on the hob) and wait until they're all nice and soft. The recipe doesn't say this but I would have added some mushrooms here to bulk it up a little and add a bit more interest in there.


2. Pop your prepared chunks of venison (or any meat) into the pan until they've browned.


3. Add your glass, and pour another one for yourself, and let it start bubbling and then add the chopped tomatoes, cumin, chilli powder, cinnamon, oregano and chocolate (I'd say this is optional) and some salt and pepper, Sergeant Pepper helped me out on this one. 


4. Bring it all up to a simmer for 20 minutes, go away and drink some more of that red, come back and give it a taste adding more spices as you wish. Then take it off the heat and put it aside to cool.


5. Peel and slice your potatoes to slices, don't go too thin on the slicing or they'll burn and crisp up too much.

6. If your meat wasn't cooked in your chosen dish then put it all in there and start adding the potatoes in any pattern that takes your fancy but make sure they overlap to keep those juices in.


7. Brush with a little melted butter and sprinkle over half of the grated cheese. Pop in the oven for about 40 minutes, then add the rest of the cheese and finish it off with another 5-10 minutes until it's golden brown and you're too hungry to wait any longer, just me?

8. Serve with any green veg or on it's own. Enjoy!



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