Winter
Meat
Roasted loin of venison with root vegetables
This roasted venison loin makes a perfect Sunday lunch to share among family and friends. The rich flavours of the roast venison go particularly well with the sweetness of the redcurrant and root vegetables. Roast venison is particularly good served pink and any leftovers make fantastic sandwiches with rocket and horseradish.
Serves 6.
This recipe is taken from my first cookbook, In One Pot: Fresh Recipes for Every Occasion, W&N, 2013.
Photo courtesy of Simon Wheeler.
Ingredients
- 1.5kg rolled venison loin
- 1 tsp juniper berries, lightly crushed
- 20g rosemary leaves, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp redcurrant or crab apple jelly
- 2 red onions, finely sliced
- 300 ml red wine
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 400g beetroot, peeled and cut in to wedges
- 300g parsnips, cut lengthways
- 300g carrots, peeled and cut into lengths
- 400g potatoes, halved or quartered, depending on their size
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2tbsp thyme, roughly chopped
- 60 ml meat stock or water
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- horseradish sauce, to serve
Instructions
- Marinate the venison with the juniper, rosemary, redcurrant jelly, onions and red wine overnight or for at least 4 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F/Gas 6.
- Transfer the venison from the marinade to a large roasting tray. Season well. Strain the marinade into a jug. Reserve some of the onions and set aside for later.
- In a bowl, mix the garlic, beetroot, parsnips, carrots and potatoes with the olive oil and thyme. Add them to the roasting tin around the meat and arrange the reserved onions over and around the venison.
- Roast for 30 minutes, if you like it pink or longer for well done. A good way to test for doneness is to insert a skewer through the fleshiest part of the meat and to leave it for 10 seconds. Pull it out of the meat and immediately run your finger along the skewer and if it is hot at either end and just blood temperature in the middle, the meat will be pink and rare.
- Then remove everything from the tin and set aside in a warm place while the meat rests for 15 minutes.
- To make a light gravy, set the tin over a medium heat. Stir in the juice from the marinade and stock or water to scrape up all the caramelised residue from the bottom of the tin. Season to taste.
- Slice the meat and serve with the roasted vegetables, some gravy and a dollop of horseradish sauce.
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