Venison with quince
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Venison with quince

By Maria Elia

Quinces are a perfect balance to rich venison, and spiked with rosemary they offer a heady depth to this prepare-ahead main

  • Prep:20 mins
    Cook:2 hrs
    Plus marinating
  • Serves 2
  • More effort

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 521
  • fat 32g
  • saturates 15g
  • carbs 19g
  • sugars 18g
  • fibre 0g
  • protein 39g
  • salt 0.88g

Ingredients

  • 2 small venison haunch steaks
  • 1 rosemary sprig
  • 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus regular oil for frying
  • 2 tsp butter
  • 1 quince, peeled, cored and cut into eighths (reserve trimmings & pips) and 1 rosemary sprig
  • 1 tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 25g butter
  • 30ml red wine
  • 200ml chicken or game stock
  • 1 tbsp quince paste or membrillo

Tip

Buttery cavolo nero
Strip 100g cavolo nero leaves from their stem (like you would thyme leaves from a stalk). Roughly chop into 6cm pieces. Boil in salted water for 2 mins, drain and pat dry. To serve, melt a knob of butter over a medium heat, add the leaves and seasoning, and heat through.Rosemary mash
Cut 500g potatoes into 3cm cubes. Boil for 10-15 mins or until tender. Meanwhile, put 75ml double cream, 2 tbsp milk and 1 rosemary sprig in a pan and gently heat. Just before it reaches boiling point, remove the pan from the heat and leave the flavours to infuse. Drain the potatoes, return to the pan over a low heat for 1 min to dry out, strain in the cream mixture, 50g butter and seasoning, then mash.

Method

  1. Marinate the venison with the rosemary, extra virgin olive oil and 1 tsp black pepper for at least 2 hrs or overnight.

  2. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Put the quince pieces and rosemary in the middle of a sheet of foil, sprinkle with sugar, dot with butter, then scrunch together the foil to seal in a parcel. Bake for 1-1½ hrs until tender. Keep warm.

  3. For the sauce, cook the reserved quince trimmings and pips in 25g butter for 5 mins. Add the red wine and boil until reduced by half, then pour in the stock and simmer for 10 mins. Strain, return to the pan with the quince paste until melted, then keep warm until ready to serve.

  4. Just before serving, turn up oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Heat a frying pan with a dash of olive oil and 2 tsp butter. Season the steaks with salt, then brown on both sides for 1-2 mins. Transfer to a baking sheet and finish in the oven for 4 mins. Remove and rest for 10 mins. Meanwhile, reheat the sauce and Rosemary mash and finish the Buttery cavolo nero (recipes below). Slice the steaks and serve everything with the roasted quince.

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