Recipe a month....

[curiouswombat]

brutti_ma_buoni said one of her aims this year is to try a new recipe each month from a recipe book she already owns.

Today I joined in and cooked Spiced Braised Venison with Chilli and Chocolate from one of the BBC Good Food Magazines that were my birthday present at the end of 2012.

D-d and I have now eaten (S2C is in bed - he'll get his later), and both agree that this is absolutely gorgeous. Also that it would work just as well with beef if you would prefer.



For 6 portions.

Ingredients;

3Tbs vegetable oil
1.5kg diced stewing venison
1 onion roughly chopped
3 large carrots roughly chopped
1tbspn cumin seeds
1 teaspn ground coriander
large pinch chilli powder*
Small cinnamon stick
1 red chilli, whole*
1 heaped tbspn plain flour
500ml red wine
300ml beef stock
400gm can chopped tomatoes
large sprig thyme
2 bay leaves
2 ox dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)

* We like chilli - I substituted a dessertspoon of chilli paste.


Method;

1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas mark 4.
2. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish and brown the meat in batches.
3. Add the vegetables to the pan and brown lightly then stir in the spices, chilli, and flour and cook for a few minutes.
4. Pour in the wine, tomatoes and stock, stir, add the herbs and the browned meat, then bring to the simmer.
5. Cover with the lid and put in the oven for 90 minutes, then remove the lid and cook for another hour until the meat is really tender.
6. Remove from the oven, let it cool for 2 or 3 minutes, then stir in the chocolate until it has melted.

Serve with mashed potatoes or rice.


They are very generous portions - there will certainly be plenty for tomorrow. It would be very good with a pastry lid as a pie.

Comments

[bogwitch.livejournal.com]

It looked very promising until the tomatoes.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

There is no sign of them in the finished product, which is why I can give it to S2C and he'll eat it - but obviously not suitable for anyone with an allergy. On the other hand, a bit more carrot and onion for bulk, and a drop more wine or stock, and it would probably work anyway.

[sparrow2000.livejournal.com]

Oh this sounds lovely, I'll definitely have to try it. I love vension. We also get a lot of bison over here, which is also very lean, so I'm thinking this recipe would work for bison as well.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It really is good (I'm just thinking of a small amount as supper...) - and would certainly work with bison I would reckon.

[brutti-ma-buoni.livejournal.com]

That sounds very good indeed.

And I suppose has the sad side effect of leaving you with some spare chocolate that needs using up. Oh dear.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I have 50gm - woe, woe, and thrice woe.

Of course it would just keep until next time I make chilli.

[hobbituk.livejournal.com]

Sounds lovely - I'm going to try a sweet potato and cheese soup tomorrow night...

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Oh - that sounds good. If it turns out OK I would happily give it a go.

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

Is venison something you can commonly find in a grocery store? Because it isn't here.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Yes - both our supermarkets sell it. It is a bit more expensive than beef - but this was Sunday dinner...

It is also very lean, with very little waste.

The recipe would be absolutely fine with beef, D-d and I both think.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

I see the tomatoes aren't visible when finished otherwise Manolo wouldn't touch it. I'd make it with beef because we can't get venison easily here but it does sound really yummy!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

They totally disappear - and Manolo is clearly a man after S2C's heart!

D-d and I both reckon it would work perfectly with beef - and would certainly work with a fairly cheap cut as it cooks for so long.

[estelcontar1.livejournal.com]

It sounds totally scrumptious, and I mean to try it. Will have to use beef though, as wouldn't be able to lay my hands on venison for love or money.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It would work fine with beef, we both thought. The meat becomes beautifully tender without drying out at all.

[just-ann-now.livejournal.com]

Ooooo....I have some goat stew meat I got for Christmas (from my farming daughter; a friend had meat goats pasturing there all summer) and I bet this would be good. I was going to do goat curry but Mr Marwalk's not a big fan of chili. Thanks for posting this!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Oh yes - I would think it would be good with goat. Even with the spoonful of chilli paste it was not 'hot' - but very, very tasty.

[jay-of-lasgalen.livejournal.com]

Mmm, that does sound good! The new recipe aim is a great idea - I find it hard to think what to make for supper, yet I own dozens of recipe books!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It is lovely. And really good as, once in the oven, you can leave it for a while and do something else!

Making something new from one of those books once a month seems quite achievable - I'm going to try to keep it up.

[kathyh]

I spotted that recipe in the BBC Good Food magazine too. It sounds delicious but I have to treat chilli with caution. We had another of their venison recipes this evening as I had some red cabbage and some frozen blackberries.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2411656/blackberry-braised-red-cabbage-with-venison

I didn't follow the recipe exactly as I prefer to braise red cabbage in the oven but we both enjoyed it.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

The amount of chilli is pretty minimal - the whole chilli that you take out like the cinnamon stick and the bay leaves will only add a touch or warmth.

I saw that one that you used - very similar in concept to our usual Christmas red cabbage, I thought - I bet it is a glorious colour.

[rachel2205.livejournal.com]

Sounds lovely! Would work well in the slow cooker too after preliminary browning. Today we made a beef stew in the slow cooker - so we could just leave it from this morning while we got on with housework - and it will make good meals for Kieran while I'm in Oxford. :)

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It would work very well in the slow cooker. It is a nice variant on my usual beef casserole!

[julia-here.livejournal.com]

Weirdly enough, that's very similar in technique to my venison chili, although the spicing is way different (whole chopped Ancho and Poblano peppers, fresh ground cumin, and a good bit of garlic different). Chocolate in dark-spicy meat is a great thing, isn't it?

I can't afford to buy venison in the very few gourmet/organic groceries that sell it here, and none of my hunting relatives like me well enough to give me some of theirs, so this hits me right in the sorrowful nostalgia spot.

My soup from last night involved half a roast butternut squash cubed and simmered with about 355ml of chicken broth, two good size cloves of garlic, chopped fine, a peeled and julienned thumb of ginger, and some finely sliced lemon grass, until it was smooth and velvety, then flinished with coconut milk, green curry paste, a bit of fish sauce and some salad shrimp/prawns (it's better with bigger fresh shrimp of the size that's called "41-50" here -number of shrimp per pound- but they were outrageously expensive) and then a sprig of fresh basil laid on top when it's served. It's tasty enough that my soup-hating husband had seconds, for the second time of making it!

Julia, making ground beef chili tonight, and I need to go start chopping and browing the onions.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I think the 'chilli' in the title is a bit misleading - it is such a small amount and simply adds warmth in the same way as the cumin and the cinnamon do - yours sounds much more like something I would actually call chilli, too. Which is usually ground beef around here, too.

As Bogwitch said, venison is sometimes cheaper than beef in our supermarkets and so not terribly much a luxury food - although this week it was more expensive in the local shop where I bought it.

Your soup sounds very good - I must pass the recipe on to D-d as it sounds very 'her'. We just buy shrimps by eye! Actually our scale just goes; 'shrimps' are tiny, about 1/2 inch, 'prawns' are the more normal size, 'king prawns' the big ones, and 'Dublin bay Prawns' are scampi.

[timeofchange.livejournal.com]

This sounds divine.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It is very good - one to do again.

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, yum! Can I come over to your house for leftovers?

Lynda

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Certainly - I'm sure there is enough!

[mummy-owl.livejournal.com]

Yummy! I love venison and it does work well with strong-ish seasoning. Chilli and chocolate sound wonderful!

I put chocolate (or cocoa powder) in my chilli con carne and it really makes a differnce :-)

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

I put chocolate (or cocoa powder) in my chilli con carne and it really makes a difference :-)

Me too - and it really does, doesn't it?

[spikereader.livejournal.com]

That sounds delicious (and something that the girls would eat as well, which is always a bonus when I'm trying something new), so I shall keep the recipe and give it a go.

I've got some chocolate and chilli fudge at the moment (omg so nice!) but don't think I'll be adding that into the mix. *g*

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It is very good - no single flavour dominates but there is a real depth to it.

And oooh - I have fudge envy! Much better kept out of the venison casserole, I think.

[bojojoti.livejournal.com]

That sounds delicious.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It was - very warming for a cold day, and very good heated over the next day, too.

[cbtreks.livejournal.com]

Do you hunt or know someone who does, or can you get venison at the grocery store? I've never seen it in a grocery store here but it's not hard to get. Can't throw a stone without hitting a hunter. Or a deer, for that matter!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

We can just get it at the supermarket or the butcher's shop - it has become more common over the past five years or so.


But knowing a hunter would make for a cheaper supply, I would think!

[myrhiann.livejournal.com]

That sounds really yummy. Unfortunately venison is hard to get here, but beef would be a good alternative.

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

D-d and I both reckon beef would work perfectly. A good recipe to keep until winter, though, I think!

[sulien.livejournal.com]

*wipes drool from laptop* Oh, my... This sounds a lot like a Mexican molé dish and if I had someone to cook for besides just me I would totally cook it it. Thank you for sharing the recipe! *tucks away for later*

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It is very like a molé - the spices and the chocolate add a real warmth to the dish. It tasted very good warmed through the next day, too.

[samson28.livejournal.com]

How hot is it? Sounds yummy but my kids only like mild xxx

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It is not chilli hot at all - there is only a warmth to the flavour - and it is very flavourful, if you see what I mean.

[just-ann-now.livejournal.com]

I have this going in my crock pot right now (with the last of my Christmas goat!) and it smells FANTASTIC. Thank you for posting it!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Enjoy it! I have definitely added it to my repertoire for winter meals.

I was just thinking of you, as your 'little note' arrived today - thank you.