Venison loins with polenta, chestnut and pancetta make for a wonderfully warming dish, as served up by Prosecco Italian restaurant in the F Word
1. Place the venison bones on a large oven tray and roast with 2 sticks of celery, 1 large onion, 1 carrot, 2 cloves of garlic and the juniper berries for 1 hour at 180°C. Once the bones and vegetables are done transfer into a large stock pot and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 6 hours. For the first hour make sure to skim any impurities from the water’s surface. Once the stock has reduced and has a good flavour, strain it and let it cool so that the fat solidifies and can be removed.
2. Make a roux in a small pan by melting the butter and adding the flour until combined. Keep warm.
3. Finely dice the remaining 2 carrots, celery, onion and garlic and sweat off in a third pan with olive oil. Allow to develop a deep colour before deglazing the pan with a glass of red wine and reduce. Add bruised rosemary and bay leaf and gin then add the hot roux and slowly the cold stock. Whisk if necessary to mix well. Once the sauce has been simmering for 10 minutes and all the flour has cooked out of the roux, strain it through a fine sieve and keep warm until ready to use.
4. For the venison, sear the loin in a pan browning on all sides - approximately 1 minute on each side. Flambé with gin then finish in the oven for 3-5 minutes in an oven preheated to 180°C.
5. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and blanch the cabbage for 3 minutes. In the meantime pan fry the pancetta. When crispy, add the drained blanched cabbage and crumble in the roasted chestnuts. Cook for a further 2 -3 minutes.
6. Take the meat out of the oven and allow to rest in a warm place for 5 minutes.
7. Cook the polenta in boiling vegetable stock by adding it slowly and mixing constantly until you have a thick lava-like consistency bubbling in the pan, then cook on a low heat until the texture is smooth.
8. Spoon the polenta on to the plate followed by the rested venison. Add the cabbage and pour over some strained venison sauce to serve.
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