Rare Treat: Venison

Roasted Venison Loin with Maple Carrots and Crispy Sage

Ingredients

• 250g venison loin
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 25g unsalted butter
• salt
• pepper

Madeira Sauce

• 750ml Madeira
• 6 shallots (finely chopped)
•  1/2 bulb garlic (peeled and chopped)
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 10 button mushrooms (sliced)
• 1.5ltrs of brown chicken stock
• 2 tomatoes (halved)
• 2 sprigs fresh tarragon
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Carrots and Dates

• 2 carrots (peeled and quartered)
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 baby carrot
• 1 tsp root ginger (peeled and grated)
• 1 tsp coriander leaves (chopped)
• 4 dates (chopped)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt
• black pepper
• crispy sage leaves
• 80g picked sage leaves
• 250ml Canola oil

To serve

• 2 dates (chopped)

Method

[1] To prepare the Madeira sauce, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the shallots, garlic, thyme and bay leaf to the pan and sauté for approximately two minutes, or until the shallots are soft. [2] Add the mushrooms to the pan along with the Madeira wine. Bring to the boil and reduce by two thirds. [3] Add the chicken stock and reduce. Add the tomatoes and tarragon to the pan, bring back to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. [4] Remove from the heat and skim the fat and impurities off the surface with a ladle. [5] Pass the sauce through a sieve into a suitable container. Once cooled, store in the fridge. [6] Preheat the oven to 170°C. Place a roasting tray in the oven to warm. [7] Cook the carrots in salted boiling water for 15 minutes. [8] Place the carrots in the hot roasting tray and add the olive oil. Cook the carrots in the oven for six to eight minutes, or until golden brown, turning them every two minutes. [9] Add the maple syrup and place back in the oven for a further two minutes. Keep warm until required. [10] Heat 250ml of canola oil to 180 degrees in a medium saucepan, add the sage leaves and fry until crispy. Drain leaves on paper towel. [11] To cook the venison, heat a frying pan until very hot and add the remaining olive oil. Season the venison loin with salt and pepper and place straight into the pan. [12] Seal the venison on all sides until golden brown. Add the butter to the pan. Once it starts to foam, turn down the heat and cook for a further two minutes, continuously rolling the loin in the butter. For well–cooked venison, allow another four to five minutes. Remove from the pan and leave to rest. [13] Season to taste with salt and pepper, then mix well to combine. [14] Gently reheat the sauce. [15] Carve the venison and lie on the plate followed by the remaining chopped dates, carrots, sage leaves and a good drizzle of sauce. Serve immediately.

NIKKI FRIEDLI’S SOUNDTRACK

We’re branching out for festive season and giving you two options; gloriously optimistic and festive or regular adult lamenting spending concentrated amounts of time with people you don’t actually like. If you’re one of those people who thrives around Christmas time then option one is for you. Not only is it festive, it’ll stop Grinch-esque loved ones like me from audibly groaning at the end of the table. Try out Pomplamoose’s Christmas in Space. Like deer, they’re bound to make half of your audience squeal with delight. Fun, frivolous, and impossible to dislike. Alternatively, you can completely embrace your inner need for pseudo-puns and listen to Deerhunter’s Monomania. Monomania is a heady slow-burning orchestra of miserable bees ushering you toward egg nog and advent calendars.

NIKKI FRIEDLI’S DRINK MATCH

The surface temperature of Adelaide will match the core of the sun, so put away your Barossa Shiraz. While your Aunt demolishes a room-temperature Savvy B rammed with ice cubes, you can sip on The Other Right’s 2015 ‘Here’s Looking at You’ Grenache. As a cup of liquefied summer, it’s all raspberry splits at the front with a herbal hook at the back. Fun enough to make friends, serious enough so you won’t have to share too much. @GastroPunkOz africola.com.au