Venison Tagine

We love venison as its such a rich and lean meat that's full of flavour and I was lucky to have been given a 3kg haunch of venison a while back by a colleague in exchange for making her daughter's Christening cake. Her husband shot and butchered the venison, so I can be sure of it's provenance.

After boning the joint of meat, I divided it and used one portion to make a tagine in my slow cooker as follows:

500g Venison, cubed (you can use beef or lamb if you prefer)
30ml Rapeseed oil
2 Onions, sliced
2 Cloves of garlic, crushed
1tbs Ground coriander
1tbs Ground cumin
2tsp Ground ginger
1tsp Ground cinnamon
250ml Beef stock
400g tin Plum tomatoes
100g Dried apricots, chopped
2tbs Ground almonds
400g tin Chick peas, drained and rinsed

1. Heat the oil in a heavy based frying pan and fry the venison in batches until browned.
2. Transfer the venison into the base of your slow cooker.
3. Gently fry the onion & garlic in the pan for 5 minutes until softened, then add the ground coriander, cumin, ginger and cinnamon and fry gently for 2 minutes.
4. Add this onion & spice mixture to your venison in the slow cooker.
5. Pour your stock into your frying pan to deglaze and heat until just boiling.
6. Pour this stock mixture over your meat and spice mixture.
7. Add the plum tomatoes, chopped apricots, ground almonds and chick peas.
8. Stir well then place the lid on top.
9. Cook in the slow cooker on low for 12 hours or on medium for 8 hours.

Serve with cous cous and a little fresh, chopped coriander to garnish.

Curry paste - the homemade version

In 1989, just after we got married, I bought a book on Curries by Pat Chapman from Sainsbury's.  Despite now owning several other curry recipe books, it's still our 'go to' book for all things spicy!  We've been blending the spices into curry powder and cooking it out in to a curry paste ever since then.  It's been tried and tested by many a guest to our house over the years, and as I used almost the last of my current batch making my chicken curry for dinner last night, I had to make some more today.  The benefit of making it today in the warm, dry weather, meant that I could cook it outdoors on my Cadac barbeque in the paella pan; sharing the amazing aroma with my neighbours and leaving my house smelling fragrant and not spicy for the next few days!

It's incredibly simple to do, so here it is in it's entirety.  All teaspoon measurements are ROUNDED.

12tsp Ground Coriander

6tsp Ground Cumin

5tsp Gram flour

5tsp Garlic powder

4tsp Fenugreek seeds

4tsp Paprika*

4tsp Turmeric

4tsp Garam Masala

1tsp Asafoetida

1tsp Ground Ginger

1tsp Chilli powder*

1tsp Mustard powder*

1tsp White ground Pepper

250ml Cider vinegar

250ml Vegetable oil

1. Measure all your ingredients into a large bowl.

2. Pour in your cider vinegar and enough cold water to make a paste that 'dollops' off the spoon without being too runny.

3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok (I used my paella pan on my Cadac).

4. Add the curry paste (be careful as it'll spit initially due to the water content).

5. Cook for about 15 minutes until the water has evaporated.  You'll know it's cooked as when you leave it for a short while, the oil will rise to the surface of the paste.

6. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then decant into sterilised jars.

7. Heat a little more oil and pour over the top of the curry paste to prevent air getting to it.

8. Seal the jars and store in a cool, dark place for a couple of weeks before using.

The recipe above is for a mild curry paste, however if you increase the quantities of Paprika, Chiili and Mustard you can increase the heat to your own preference. Similarly, if you don't have all the ingredients listed above, it's fine to leave one or two of the smaller quantities out.

This goes perfectly in my Chicken Curry Recipe.

The curry paste recipe is NOT originally my own, but it's one we've been using for 25 years now. Thanks to Pat Chapman and to Sainsbury's for a fabulous book - you should re-publish this!

Apple & Sultana Chutney with a Chilli Kick

My basic apple & sultana chutney with a little bit of a 'kick'.  This is great to cook if you need to clear your head.  Remember to put the extractor fan on high though!

1.5kg Cooking Apples, cored and finely diced; no need to peel
750g Light Muscovado sugar
500g Sultanas
1 Medium white onion, finely chopped
1 Medium red onion, finely chopped
10ml Mustard seeds
10ml Ground Ginger
10ml Ground coriander
10ml Garlic powder
10ml dried Chilli flakes
5ml Salt
300ml Cider vinegar
300ml Red Wine Vinegar
150ml Balsamic Vinegar

1. In a large, heavy based pan, combine all the ingredients.

2. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 45-60 minutes, stirring frequently until thick & syrup-like.  Remember to keep it moving every minute or so as it gets thicker to prevent it sticking to the pan.

3. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for a while.
4. Decant into hot, clean, sterilised jars and seal.

5. Store in a cool, dark place for 2-3 weeks for the flavours to develop fully before enjoying.