Venison Steaks with Pomegranate, Pepper and Cranberry Relish

As well as buying pheasant, partridge, wood pigeon and pies from Manor Farm Game we often buy venison haunch steaks. I've experimented with a number of sauces to serve with the venison but (as often happens) the simplest sauce to make turned out to be the best.

Simply place a large tablespoon of Pomegranate, Pepper and Cranberry Relish (from New England Cranberry) in a small pan with a glass of red wine. Gently heat the sauce until the relish dissolves into the wine.

The sauce is wonderful and as you can tell really easy to cook. Unfortunately I can't seem to find anywhere to buy more of the relish (the shipping means buying direct isn't practical). We bought the original jar from a company that doesn't seem to sell it any more. So does anyone know where I could buy more of this wonderful relish, a similar sounding relish, or does anyone have a recipe for making such a relish?

Creamy Asparagus Pasta

Ingredients (serves 2)
1 garlic glove
200g young asparagus
180ml double cream
two handfuls finely grated parmesan cheese
400g fresh tagliatelle

Cooking Instructions
Peel the garlic clove and place in a small pan with the double cream. Gently heat the cream almost until boiling and then remove from heat and allow to cool a little.

Remove the tips from the asparagus and then finely chop the stems. Boil the chopped asparagus for about 10 minutes until soft. Remove the garlic clove from the cream and then add the boiled asparagus and parmesan cheese. Using a hand blender, blend the asparagus, cream and cheese together to make the sauce.

Cook the fresh tagliatelle (usually about four minutes in boiling water) and the asparagus tips together. Drain the pasta and place on a plate. Spoon the sauce on top and serve.

Bangers and Mash with Red Wine Gravy

I assume everyone knows how to make mashed potatoes and how to fry a sausage so the recipe will only deal with making the red wine gravy. To make a full meal I'd suggest serving with the sugar roasted alliums from the previous post.

Ingredients
1/2 pint of red wine
1/2 pint of vegetable stock
1/4 pint Balsamic vinegar
2 tsps plain flour

Cooking Instructions
Put the red wine and stock in a pan and simmer to reduce the volume by half (to 1/2 a pint). Mix the plain flour into a paste with 2 tbsps of cold water. Add the balsamic vinegar and flour paste to the pan. Whisk vigorously until the sauce thickens.

Note: This amount of sauce is usually way more than we need for a single meal, however, it freezes really well. I usually freeze it in ice cube bags and then defrost and reheat as much as I need at a later date.

Blue Cheese Burgers

Ingredients (makes 4 burgers)
800g minced beef
1 medium onion
1 large stick of celery
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 tsp mustard powder
12 1cm cubes of good quality Stilton
4 burger buns

Cooking Instructions
Finely chop the onion and celery and place in a bowl along with the mixed herbs. Mix the mustard powder with 1 tsp of cold water and then stir this into the dry ingredients. Using your hands work the minced beef into the other ingredients until everything is well mixed.

Form 1/8 of the mixture into a burger sized disk place 3 of the cubes of Stilton on top of the burger. Use a further 1/8 of the mixture to double the depth of the burger sealing the cheese between the two parts. I actually do this using a loose bottomed 10cm pork pie tin -- push 1/8 of the mixture into the tin then drop in the cheese and add the remaining 1/8 of the mixture, push down firmly to seal, and finally push up on the loose bottom to remove the burger.

Wrap the burgers in grease proof paper and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Cook the burgers by frying gently until they are fully cooked through (depending on thickness this can take quite a while). You shouldn't need to add any oil/fat to the pan as the meat will release enough juices during cooking to prevent the burgers from sticking.

Serve in lightly buttered burger buns with a generous portion of chips.

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients
3 chicken breasts
1 large onion
2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
2 green chilies
1 teaspoon dried oregano
8 corn tortillas
175g white cheddar cheese
1 large pot of sour cream

Cooking Instructions
Pre-cook the chicken breasts for 45 minutes by wrapping them in foil with a few chunks of butter and placing in a pre-heated oven at about 190C (or the bottom of the roasting oven in an AGA). Once cooked allow to cool and then chop into bite sized chunks and set aside.

Finely chop the onion and gently soften with a little olive oil in a large frying pan (the diameter of the frying pan must be slightly larger than a tortilla to make a later step easier). Once the onion has softened add the chopped tomatoes and oregano. Finely chop the chilies and add these as well. Stir well bring to a simmer, cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes. Remove the tomato sauce from the heat and allow to cool for a minute.

Place the pre-cooked chicken in a bowl with a couple of large spoonfuls of the tomato sauce and stir well. Now take a tortilla and place on top of the tomato sauce in the frying pan for a few seconds so it softens by soaking up a little of the sauce. Now place one eighth of the chicken on the tortilla and roll the tortilla into a tube. Place the rolled up tortilla in a greased tall sided baking tray. Repeat for the remaining seven tortillas until they are all in the baking tray. Now pour the remaining tomato mixture over the rolled up tortillas. Grate the cheese and sprinkle over the top of the tomato mixture. Now place the baking tray in a pre-heated oven at about 200C (400F or the bottom of the roasting oven in an AGA) for about 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling nicely but not burnt.

Use a spatula to lift the tortillas out of the tray onto plates and serve with a generous dollop of sour cream.

Roast Chicken Risotto

I'm not entirely sure where this recipe originated from but it has been a firm favourite for as long as I can remember. This is a "leftover" recipe and so the ingredients list tends to vary a little each time I cook it. For example, you can vary the amount of roast chicken, at Christmas you could use leftover roast turkey, and if you don't like mushrooms it works just as well without them. The ingredients list is exactly what I used last time I cooked this.

Ingredients (Serves 2)
14oz roast chicken
l medium onion
2 tomatoes
8 fl oz long grain rice
6 mushrooms
1 large handful of frozen peas
20 fl oz chicken stock

Cooking Instructions
Finely chop the onion and gently fry in a little olive oil in a large frying pan.

While the onions are frying skin and dice the tomatoes (to skin a tomato score the skin with a sharp knife then place in a bowl of water for a minute, remove from the water and the skin will slide off), peel and slice the mushrooms, and chop the roast chicken into bite sized chunks.

Once the onion is soft add the rice and tomatoes. Fry for a minute or two to ensure the rice is nicely coated with oil. Add the chicken stock and stir. Bring to the boil and then simmer with a lid on for about 15-20 minutes adding more stock if necessary.

Add the chicken and mushrooms and stir thoroughly continue to cook with the lid on for about ten minutes. Once you have added the chicken cook the frozen peas. Once everything is cooked stir the frozen peas into the risotto and serve.

Jacket Potato with Chicken, Leek and Bacon

Ingredients (Serves 1)
1 chicken breasts
1 leek
2 rashers smoked bacon
1 heaped dessert spoon of flour
¼ pint of chicken stock
1 teaspoon of whole grain mustard
1 dessert spoon of crème fraîche

Cooking Instructions
First dice the bacon, chop the chicken breast into bite sized chunks, and thinly slice the leek. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan and gently fry the bacon and chicken. When the chicken is almost cooked add the leeks and continue to cook until the leeks are soft and tender.

Sprinkle the flour into the pan and stir through. Pour in the stock, stirring constantly as the source thickens. Stir in the mustard and crème fraîche. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, for a few minutes while the crème fraîche melts into the sauce.

Spoon over a jacket potato and serve.

Chinese Chili Chicken

Ingredients (Serves 2)
2 chicken breasts
1 tablespoon cornflour
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg white
1 large green chili
1 large red chili
A 1 inch long piece of root ginger
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Cooking Instructions
Mix 1 tablespoon of the oil with the cornflour and egg white in a large bowl. Chop the chicken into inch sized cubes, add to the bowl and stir to coat all the chicken pieces.

Remove the stalk and seeds from the chilies and chop finely. Peel the ginger and chop into very small cubes. Chop the two peppers into pieces about 2cm square.

Heat the remaining oil in a wok and once hot add the chillies and ginger and cook for a couple of minutes. Now add the coated chicken pieces and stir to ensure that the chicken doesn't get all stuck together.

Continue to cook until the chicken is fully cooked through and then throw in the peppers. Cook for a further few minutes to soften the peppers then add the soy sauce and white wine vinegar (note that these are likely to spit as they are added to the wok). Cook a little longer until most of the fluid has evaperated, then serve on a bed of rice.