East Haugh House Hotel in Perthshire has been one of our favourite overnight stays during our Scottish travels so we are delighted to share with your their recipe for Roast loin fillet of venison with braised red cabbage, parsnip puree with red wine and port sauce. With Christmas, Hogmanay and New Year around the corner thoughts often turn to Venison for that special dinner in Scotland. Head Chef and Patron of East Haugh, Neil McGowan certainly knows all about
Head Chef and Patron of East Haugh, Neil McGowan, knows all about cooking game and has recently been awarded a Gold Medal for it. His restaurant is also recommended in the UK’s Michelin Guide 2017, and was the regional winner of Best Informal Restaurant at the Scottish Hotel Awards. They were also awarded Best Bar Food at the 2017 Scottish Food Awards.
We hope that you enjoy cooking Neil’s venison recipe and remember to share some pictures of the dish with us!
You can read about our visit to East Haugh House Hotel here.
This recipe serves 4 as a main course
Ingredients
Venison:
600g venison fillet
Sea salt and black pepper
11/2 tbsp olive oil
Few knobs of butter
Braised cabbage:
1 small red cabbage
100g butter
150g light brown sugar
75ml sherry or red wine vinegar
Parsnip puree:
2 large parsnips
150ml milk
75ml double cream
25g butter
Parsnip Crisps:
2 parsnips
200ml Sunflower oil
Sea salt and black pepper
Red wine sauce:
2tbsp olive oil
3 banana shallots finely chopped
100g meat trimmings (beef or venison)
1/2 tsp of black peppercorns
Few sprigs of thyme
Bay leaf
Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
750ml red wine
400ml veal or chicken stock
Sea salt and black pepper
Method:
1. Red cabbage – prepare first
Half, core and finely shred the cabbage
Melt butter with sugar and vinegar in a pan
When the sugar has dissolved pop in the red cabbage and toss to coat
Cover with a crumpled piece of greaseproof paper and cook over low heat for about 1 1/2 hours until cabbage is tender.
Remove the paper and stir the cabbage now and then
If there is still a fair amount of liquid then drain the cabbage and set aside. Boil this liquid to make a syrupy sauce. Pour over cabbage and toss to coat.
2. Prepare parsnip sauce
Peel parsnips, cut out tough core and roughly chop. Put into small pan with milk and cook for 20-25mins until very soft.
Put the cooked parsnips into the blender with half of the liquor and zap to a fine a fine puree, return to pan and stir in the bream and butter. Seaon with salt and pepper. Transfer to squeezy bottle and keep in a pan of hot water.
3. Venison
Preheat the oven to 200C/ gas mark 6
Season the venison with salt and pepper.
Heat in overproof frying pan or small roasting tray
Add olive oil.
Once the pan is hot, add venison and brown/seal the meat for 4-5mins turning to colour evenly and adding the butter after minute or so.
Spoon over the venison to baste as it melts and foams.
Put pan into oven and roast for approx 6-8mins until the meat is medium-rare. It should feel slightly springy when pressed.
Remove and set aside to rest for 5-8mins.
4. Parsnip Crisps
Spiralize or finely chop/peel the parsnips
Add to a hot pan with 200ml of hot vegtable oil and cook until golden brown
Remove from oil and drain on kitchen roll
Season with salt and pepper
Set aside
To serve
Put a neat pile of red cabbage in the centre of each warm plate.
Slice the venison thickly and arrange, overlapping the red cabbage.
Drizzle the red wine sauce around the plates.
Squeeze little dots of parsnip puree around the plates.
Arrange the parsnip chips on top of the venison