Venison Bourguignon

Prepare the venison stock preferably the day before  Recipe  . Put a pint or so of stock over a medium heat, add the red wine and madiera and simmer for a few minutes. Season with salt and fresh black pepper and add some juniper berries roughly crushed.

Cut the venison fillet into slices 1 inches/2.5 cms thick  Picture  , season with salt and pepper and quickly brown on both sides in a smear of olive oil in a frying pan. Transfer the venison to an ovenproof casserole, add a few stalks of rosemary and barely cover with the venison stock. Cook in the oven at 325°F/170°C/Reg3 for a couple of hours.

Meanwhile prepare the celeriac dauphinois  Recipe   but using celeriac rather than potato or a mixture if you like  Picture  . Peel the baby onions or shallots and quickly brown in a little olive oil, take out and keep to one side. Clean and slice the ceps and quickly brown in the onion oil, take out and add to the onions. Add the onion/cep mixture to the venison about 45 minutes before it will be ready.

About 15 minutes to go, steam the baby carrots and quickly cook the spinach in a little oil for three or four minutes.

When the venison is ready, take out the venison and onions and mushrooms using a slotted spoon and put to one side. Take out a few tablespoonfuls of the remaining stock and put in a bowl, stir in a tablespoonful of cornflour and return to the casserole along with the venison and onions/mushrooms. Put back in the oven for ten minutes or so.

When the venison etc is ready, put a tablespoonful of spinach on to serving dishes, place a slice of venison on top and spoon over some sauce and onions and mushrooms. Surround with some carrots, broccoli and some creamed celeriac and serve  Zoom  .