Venison Casserole with Root Vegetable Mash
By not-recognized
Published on 14 November 2022
This venison casserole with root vegetable mash is a hearty and delicious dish, packed full of flavour and deeply comforting. It makes for an ideal luxurious weekend supper on a chilly evening, and you can whack all of the casserole ingredients into a slow cooker for a more hands-off and energy-efficient approach to the recipe. Simply whip up the mash during the last 30 mins of the casserole's cooking time. Time and servings
4 hrs 10 minsTotal time
4Servings
30 minsPrep time
3 hrs 40 minsCooking time
Ingredients
- 180 ml of vegetable oil, plus extra for frying
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- 5 g of sage, leaves only, finely chopped
- 40 g of plain flour
- 150 g of cranberry sauce, plus extra to serve
- 200 g of butternut squash, peeled, cut into 2cm chunks
- 200 g of swede, peeled, chopped into 2cm chunks
- 200 g of parsnips, peeled, cut into 2cm chunks
- 1 echalion shallots, halved, thinly sliced
- 1 clove of garlic, grated or crushed
- 500 g of diced venison
- 50 g of carrots, peeled, chopped into 1cm cubes
- 2 onions, halved, finely chopped
- 2 celery sticks, thinly sliced
- 250 ml of chicken stock
- 150 ml of red wine
- 80 g of butter
Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/gas 3 and grease a lidded casserole dish with 30g of the butter. Place the meat in a large bowl and season generously with salt and coarse ground black pepper. Place a large frying pan over a high heat and heat 150ml of the oil. Once hot, add half of the meat, ensuring not to overcrowd the pan, and brown it all over. Transfer it to the casserole dish using a slotted spoon, then brown the remaining meat in the pan. Transfer all of the meat to the casserole dish but leave any remaining oil in the pan.Step 2
In the same pan over a medium heat, adding more oil if needed, sauté the carrots until slightly softened, approx. 5-7 mins. Add the onions and celery and continue to cook over a medium heat until soft, approx. 10-15 mins. Transfer all of the vegetables to the casserole dish with the venison.Step 3
In a separate pan over medium heat, heat the chicken stock with 1 bay leaf, 2 thyme sprigs and the sage until simmering briskly. Meanwhile, deglaze the frying pan with the red wine over a high heat, scraping up any bits of food stuck to the base of the pan using a wooden spoon. Reduce the wine by half over a high heat, then add it to the stock. In a separate pan over a medium heat, melt the remaining 50g butter, then mix in the flour to make a roux. Cook out the flour for 2 mins over a medium heat, then add the stock mixture bit by bit, whisking between each addition to make the sauce. Turn the heat up to high and boil for 5 mins until thick and shiny, then pass through a sieve directly into the casserole dish.Step 4
Add the cranberry sauce and mix to combine, then cover the dish and cook in the oven for 2-3 hrs or until the meat is very tender.Step 5
To make the root vegetable mash, heat the remaining 30ml oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the shallots, remaining thyme, bay leaf and garlic and cook until soft over a low heat. Season with a pinch of salt and coarse ground black pepper. Add the butternut, swede and parsnips to the pan with 100ml water, cover with a lid and cook for 20-25 mins over a low heat or until the vegetables are soft. Drain off any excess water and mash the vegetables until your desired consistency is achieved. Season to taste and loosen the mash with a little water if needed.Step 6
Serve the venison with the mash and an extra dollop of cranberry sauce, if you fancy it.