My “Star Wars moment” came a few weeks ago when my husband, Tom, came across a recipe for mince on toast which he rather fancied. I have never eaten mince on toast. I have never made mince on toast. My mother never made mince on toast. Why would you?
Nevertheless, the mince prevailed.
It was venison mince, it was served on toasted sourdough, so that’s alright, I thought. And the recipe was from Fine Foods, where I occasionally shop on-line. I had, surprisingly, many of the ingredients in the freezer; sofrito, beef stock, some beef dripping gravy, red wine. The venison I bought in Aldi. For several years now, for a short season, they stock wild Scottish venison, stalked and culled, not farmed. It is very good.
I minced and cooked the venison. It tasted good, very good, even. At dinner I duly toasted the sourdough, heaped the mince on top and served.
It was not a pretty sight, hence no photograph. Again, I asked myself, why would you? We longed for a bowl of pappardelle through which to stir the venison mince.
Minced meat is not a rarity in my kitchen; I make it into meat loaf and polpettone. My freezer always houses several containers of ragú, made with a mixture of beef and pork. I cook lamb mince for moussaka and shepherd’s pie, and beef mince for bobotie, so I have no snobbish objection to mince. But I will not be making this particular combination again.
IVenison, however, is still on my shopping list while it is in season.
The fillet is perfect just brushed with olive oil, seasoned lightly with salt and cooked on a hot griddle. Served pink, with a mixed leaf salad, it makes an excellent quick supper.
You may be fortunate enough to come across a joint of venison, as I did once, in a friend’s kitchen in Boston.
She said, as she went out for the evening, “there’s food in the fridge, and do help yourself to the venison, it’s taking up so much room that you’d be doing me a favour”.
Several hours later, the beautifully larded rib of venison made a fine dinner. And venison makes a perfect burger. Despite there being countless versions ‘out there’, I like to make my own.
The best I ever made, after I visited the Duchy oyster beds in Helford for Frances Bissell’s West Country Kitchen, had a hidden filling of oysters, turning it into a feast, a fast and modern interpretation of the carpetbag steak, which is a juicy fillet stuffed with raw oysters and grilled.
For something less ambitious, I make venison chilli. That would have been a perfect way to rescue the mince on toast dinner, sadly just as un-photogenic.
The best cuts to use are from the shoulder or leg, which have plenty of flavour, and lend themselves to long, slow cooking. But even lean venison fillet produces a good result, simply cooked more quickly.
The recipe can be used for a single meat or any combination. Turkey chilli, for example, is a good use of those giant turkey drumsticks which look like legs of lamb.
How hot to make the chilli is a matter of personal taste. I do not like food that is crammed full of chilli, for two reasons. One is that the rest of the flavours are masked, and the other is that very hot chilli ruins your palate for any wine you plan to serve. Fresh chillies need to be treated with respect and if in doubt as to what kind of chilli you are using, assume it is a hot one until it proves otherwise.
My advice is to taste as you go. You can use dried, ground chilli in place of the fresh I have suggested. Of course, you may consider beer or cider a more suitable drink with chilli than wine.
What to serve with the chilli? Rice works well. But in our house, there will be a call for cornbread.
At this point, a large bowl of cool, crunchy salad will go down well, with contrasting sweet and bitter flavours; celery, chicory, radicchio, fennel, kohlrabi and Chinese leaves are all good for eating raw.
Or use some of the same ingredients in a slaw.
Venison chilli – and others
(Serves 6 to 8)
500 g black beans, washed, soaked overnight (or use canned beans)
1 kg minced venison
2 tablespoons olive, or groundnut oil
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
3 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 to 3 fresh green or red chillies, seeded and sliced
1 tablespoon pimenton
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 level tablespoon fresh marjoram or oregano, or
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram or oregano
2 bay leaves
400 g can tomato polpo
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Method
Put the beans in a saucepan with plenty of water.
Bring to the boil, and boil briskly for 15 minutes.
Drain and rinse the beans, put back in the pan, cover with the same volume of water, bring to the boil, and simmer for half an hour.
Brown the meat in a heavy frying pan.
Remove the meat from the pan, and put into a casserole.
Heat the oil, and fry the onions until golden brown.
Add the garlic, spices and herbs, and fry these gently for five minutes.
Add the tomatoes, and their liquid, and cook for a few minutes, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the frying pan.
Pour the contents into the casserole, together with the beans and their cooking liquor.
Bring to the boil, and simmer uncovered for about 1 1/2 hours.
Taste, and season, as necessary.
Serve with polenta or cornbread.
Cook’s note: if using fillet, cook the mixture for no more than about 30 minutes.
Here it is definitely better to use canned beans given the shorter cooking time.
Cornbread
(Serves 6 to 8)
225 g plain flour
175 g cornmeal, or polenta
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 level teaspoon sea salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
150 ml milk
3 tablespoons melted butter
Method
Mix the dry ingredients, and then stir in the wet ingredients until blended, but do not over-mix.
Butter muffin tins, a square roasting tin, or cake tin, about 20 cm or the same volume, and pour in the mixture.
Bake at 200 – 220 C for 20 to 25 minutes.
Winter slaw
(Serves 6 to 8)
4 tablespoons ricotta
2 tablespoons thick yoghurt
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
1 tablespoon grain mustard
1/2 teaspoon each celery salt, and celery seed – optional
2 banana shallots, peeled and finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tablespoon light muscovado sugar
Chopped parsley and thyme
1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 kohl rabi, peeled, thinly sliced and cut into strips
Method
Chunk of celeriac, peeled, sliced, cut into strips, and blanched if liked.
Blend the first four ingredients until smooth, and then stir in the remaining ingredients.
Leave to stand for a few hours to let the flavours develop.
- Cook’s note: A food processor or mandolin makes short work of the slicing or shredding.
And a good quality mayonnaise will do nicely in place of the ricotta, yoghurt and vinegar, although you might want to add the mustard.
Fresh blueberries, dried cranberries and pomegranate can be stirred in just before serving, as can, of course, some chopped pistachios.
