Munopa's Venison Loin, Venison Bolognese, and Celeriac Cream with Venison Sauce and Cavolo Nero

Ingredients

• 200g of loin of venison,

• bone out 100g of venison mince

• 25g of carrots,

• finely diced 25g of onion,

• finely diced 25g of celery,

• finely diced 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1 tsp fresh thyme, Chopped

• 100ml of red wine

• ½ plum tomato, peeled and diced

• 250ml of brown chicken stock

• olive oil

• 500 g venison bones

• ¼ carrot, diced

• ¼ leek, diced

• ¼ onion, diced

• 1 sprig of fresh thyme

• 2 juniper berries

• 375 of red wine

• 500ml of brown chicken stock

• 150ml of veal stock, concentrated

• 1 bay leaves

• 25ml of sherry vinegar

• vegetable oil

• 1 juniper berries, crushed

• ½ tsp redcurrant jelly

• 100ml of port, cooked until reduced to 15ml

• ½ celeriac, cut into medium cubes

• 100ml of double cream

• 1 sprig of fresh thyme

• chicken stock, enough to cover

• 1 garlic clove, bruised

• salt ground

• black pepper

Method

For the venison bolognese, coat the base of a medium pan with olive oil and place over medium-high heat. Add the celery, onion, and carrots and cook for at least 20 minutes or until very soft and sweet with no colour. Meanwhile, heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a large frying pan over high heat. As soon as the pan begins to smoke, add the venison mince in small chunks. Leave each piece to color evenly to a dark golden brown and remove from the pan into a bowl. Deglaze with the red wine, bring to a boil and add to the venison. When the onion mixture is ready, add the garlic, thyme, and diced tomato and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the venison and red wine, bring to a simmer and reduce until almost dry. Use a wooden spoon to roughly break up the chunks of venison. Next, add the brown chicken stock and bring it to a gentle simmer. Cook until the sauce has reduced to become thick and rich. Finally, add the juniper, and redcurrant jelly, and season to taste with salt. Preheat the oven to 200˚C/gas mark 6.

Roast the venison bones until a dark golden brown colour is achieved. Remove from the oven and set aside. Meanwhile, place a large pan over high heat and add vegetable oil. Once the pan is hot, add the onion, leek, and carrot and cook until dark golden brown. Deglaze the pan with the sherry vinegar and reduce until almost dry. Add the red wine, bay, juniper, and thyme and reduce by half. Add the chicken, concentrated veal stock, and roasted venison bones and reduce until the consistency of a syrup. Adjust the final flavour with the port reduction, crushed juniper, and redcurrant jelly.

For the celeriac cream, combine the celeriac, garlic, thyme, and enough chicken stock to cover and place on high heat. Cook until tender, strain off the liquid and return the solids to the pan with the double cream. Reduce the heat and simmer until the cream thickens. Remove from the heat and blend until smooth, pass through a fine strainer, and season with salt to taste. Set aside. Place a large frying pan on high heat and add vegetable oil. Season the venison loin with salt and pepper and place in the pan. Cook for 5 minutes and then turn to sear the other side for a further 3 minutes. Set aside to rest. Reheat the bolognese and celeriac cream, and arrange on a plate with roast winter vegetables and mushrooms of your choice. Add the venison to the plate and drizzle with the venison sauce. Serve immediately