Ingredients

Venison

• 800g Venison Loin – trimmed and portioned into 4
• 50ml Brandy
• 50g Chives, finely chopped
• 50g Thyme, finely chopped
• 50g Flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• Vegetable Oil
• Seasoning

Braised Red Cabbage

• 600g Red Cabbage, finely shredded
• 1 Small onion, finely sliced
• 50g Thyme, finely chopped
• 1 Star Anise
• 2 Cinnamon Stick
• 200ml Orange Juice
• 200ml Vegetable stock

Chocolate Sauce

• 400ml Thick Veal Stock
• 200ml Red Wine
• 1 Shallot, roughly chopped
• 50g Thyme, roughly chopped
• 60g Dark Chocolate, 60% cocoa
• 30g Butter
• 1 Squeeze of lemon

Vegetables

• 6 Peeled potatoes
• 12 Baby Turnips
• 40g Honey
• Salt & cracked black pepper

Method

Braised Red Cabbage

This needs to be prepared a couple of days in advance. Heat a heavy base pot over a moderate heat, add a little olive oil and add in the red cabbage along with the onion, thyme, salt and pepper. Sweat gently until the cabbage has begun to soften. Add the cinnamon stick, star anise and orange juice now, allow this to simmer until the juice has reduced by half, now add in the vegetable stock, reduce to a low heat and cover with parchment paper. Cook over a low heat for 20-30 minutes until the cabbage has completely softened. Once cooked, chill and refrigerate, this will improve in flavour if allowed to sit in the fridge overnight. To serve simply return to a pot and heat through.

Venison

Season each piece of Venison loin well with salt and pepper, add some oil to a hot pan and place in the pieces of venison. Turn continuously over a high heat until all sides of the loin have a dark brown crust, remove to a tray but keep the pan with it’s juices to one side. Place the venison in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 7 minutes. Now return to the pan you began with, over a moderate heat, add in the butter and baste each piece. Now add the brandy and flambé until the flames go out, baste the meat once again and add in the chopped herbs coating each piece in the herbs. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before carving each portion into 3 pieces.

Chocolate Sauce

Pour the wine into a pot over a high heat along with the thyme and shallot. Boil the wine until it has almost completely reduced, close to burning in the pot. Add in the veal stock and continue to boil until it has reduced enough to a sauce consistency. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve to remove the shallot and thyme. Now, off the heat, whisk in the chocolate and butter before adding a squeeze of lemon juice, this will cut the fats and prevent the sauce from completely coating your taste buds allowing the flavour profile through, check the seasoning. Be careful not to boil the sauce again as it could cause it to split.

Vegetables

Use a Parisienne scoop (melon baller) to cut about 9 or 10 balls of potatoes per person. Place these in a steamer for 8 minutes and allow to cool on the counter. Heat a deep fat fryer to 180 and fry until golden and crisp, remove, drain on kitchen paper and season with a little salt.

Steam the baby turnips for 8 minutes, place under cold running water and scrub them gently with a cloth or a new soft pot scrub just to remove the outer skin. Once cleaned, half each turnip. Heat a pan over a high heat, add the honey and cook until it begins to caramelise, add in the turnips and a little cracked black pepper. Toss in the honey quickly until they have all been covered in the caramel, place to one side to serve.

To Present

Spoon the cabbage in a half circle around the plate, place on the turnips and potatoes roughly along each side of the cabbage. Place the venison slices across the top of the cabbage and spoon the sauce into the centre of the plate. Finish this with a few Nasturtium leaves or flat leaf parsley. A wonderfully tasty Easter lunch or dinner dish to celebrate the Easter weekend, enjoy!