Scandinavians get through cold winter days with lots of filling casseroles and stews. This stew recipe uses venison which is fairly lean, so slow-cooking is a perfect way to cook it to stop it drying out.
Ingredients
- 600g stewing venison, leg or shoulder, cut into 4cm chunks
- 15g plain flour, seasoned
- 2 tsp sunflower oil
- 300ml red wine
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 300ml beef stock
- 1 tsp tomato purée
- 3 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves picked
- ½ tsp juniper berries, crushed
- 200g small shallots
- 100g cooked and peeled chestnuts (we like Waitrose Cooked, Peeled & Frozen Chestnuts, defrosted)
- 250g wild or chestnut mushrooms
- 15g butter
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
For the pearl barley risotto
- 2 tsp sunflower oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 400ml chicken stock
- 200g pearl barley
Method
- 1. Dust the venison in the flour. In a flameproof casserole, fry in the oil, in batches, over a medium-high heat until browned all over.
- 2. Deglaze the casserole with half the wine, then add the remaining wine, garlic, stock, purée, thyme and juniper. Season. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
- 3. Add the shallots and chestnuts, then cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
- 4. Meanwhile, for the risotto, fry the onions in the oil, in a small pan, for 5 minutes. Add the stock and barley, cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes.
- 5. Fry the mushrooms in the butter for 4 minutes. Stir into the stew with the parsley. Serve with the risotto.
Nutritional info
Per serving: 567kcals, 13.9g fat (4.1g saturated), 47.3g protein, 61.3g carbs, 6.1g sugar, 1.4g salt