Loin of Venison, Broccoli & Stilton Purée & Red Wine Sauce

INGREDIENTS

VENISON
400g of loin of venison, trimmed of all silverskin

1 garlic clove, crushed

4 sprigs of fresh thyme

25g of butter

150g of girolles, other wild mushrooms may substitute.

1 tbsp of vegetable oil

salt

pepper

BROCCOLI AND STILTON PURÉE
1 head of broccoli

100g of butter

100g of Stilton

salt

pepper

RED WINE SAUCE
1 shallot, sliced

1 carrot, sliced

1 leek, top only, sliced

1 stalk of celery, sliced

1 tbsp of vegetable oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 sprig of fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1 sprig of rosemary

200ml of red wine, good quality

50ml of red wine vinegar

100ml of port

500ml of game stock, or substitute brown chicken stock or beef stock

25g of butter

METHOD

1. Prepare the red wine sauce in advance. Place a heavy-based pan over a medium heat, add vegetable oil and sauté the vegetables and garlic. Stir and scrape the pan until the vegetables turn a dark brown colour

2. Add the herbs, garlic, red wine, port, and vinegar. Reduce down to a few millimetres deep

3. Add the stock, bring the sauce to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until reduced by half

4. Pass the reduced sauce through a fine strainer. Return to a small pan and finish with the butter

5. For the broccoli and stilton purée, bring a large pan of heavily-salted water to a rolling boil. Trim the broccoli away from the stem and cook in the water until soft, slighty overcooked

6. Transfer the cooked broccoli to a blender along with 5 tbsp of the cooking water. Add the butter and stilton and blend until smooth

7. Transfer the purée to a small pan to keep warm over very low heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside

8. For the venison, place a heavy-based frying pan over a medium-high heat and add vegetable oil

9. Season the venison with salt and pepper. Once the pan is hot, sear one side of the venison for 2 minutes and then flip to sear the other side for 2 minutes

10. Remove the pan from the heat. Add thyme, garlic, and 25g of butter

11. Baste the venison with the infused butter in the pan. Leave the venison in the pan off the heat to slowly finish cooking - 10 minutes to reach medium-rare. Remove the meat from the pan and allow to rest

12. Place the pan back on a medium heat. Slowly sauté the mushrooms in the remaining infused butter for 5 minutes

13. To serve, divide the purée and mushrooms between two plates. Slice the venison and divide between the plates. Finish with the red wine sauce