Venison with Chunky Vegetable Braise
Delicious and lean venison has a fine flavour that goes perfectly with butternut squash, chickpeas and celery in this easy autumnal recipe. Serve with bread, or ready-made polenta slices, brushed with oil and grilled with the steaks. Delicious!
Ingredients
Serves: 4
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 shallots, roughly chopped
- 500g butternut squash, peeled and diced
- 2 celery sticks, sliced
- 1 bay leaf
- 300ml beef stock, made with a stock cube
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 4 venison steaks, about 2.5-3cm thick and 150g each
- 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 tsp smoked or regular paprika
Method
Prep:15min ›
Cook:20min ›
Ready in:35min
- Fry the vegetables: Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pan and fry the shallots, squash and celery over a fairly high heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until beginning to brown. Preheat the grill to high.
- Add the flavourings: Add the bay leaf, stock and 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are just tender. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
- Grill the venison: While the vegetables are cooking, brush the venison steaks with the remaining Worcestershire sauce and grill for 4-5 minutes on each side. Cut into thick pieces, if you like.
- Add the chickpeas: Stir the chickpeas into the pan of vegetables and bring back to the boil. Spoon the vegetables on to serving plates and top with the venison. Sprinkle with the paprika and serve.
Swaps
*You can vary the vegetables according to the season: for squash, use kohlrabi, turnip, parsnip, sweet potato or swede; for celery, use leeks. *For chickpeas, use other canned beans such as borlotti, butter beans or cannellini.
…cooking tip
Venison steaks can also be pan-fried in 1 tbsp oil. Cook on a high heat to seal, then reduce to medium heat and cook for 10-12 minutes.
…keep it
The vegetables can be frozen. Cook up to the end of step 2, cool quickly and put into a freezerproof container. Freeze for up to two months. To use, thaw, reheat and simmer for 3 minutes.
