Nigella's Venison Steak Salad

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Author: Nigella

5.0 1 ratings Review this recipe

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Serves: 2

“This is a recipe that I’m impatient to share with you! The sweet, rich meat is perfectly offset by the tangy, bright salad, and makes for a surprisingly filling meal for two that’s as gorgeous to look at as it is to eat. Don’t be tempted to reduce the oil in the marinade, as this is an essential part of the tenderising operation!”

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Ingredients Method

Ingredients

1 (250g) pack Hampshire Game Venison Steak
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tsp finely grated ginger
1 tbsp M&S Fish Sauce
1 tbsp Lee Kum Kee Premium Light Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Hunter & Gatherer Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Avocado Oil, plus 1 tbsp reserved
1 tsp Lee Kum Kee Pure Sesame Oil
1 tsp lime juice
1 Wholegood Organic Romano Pepper, cut into long matchsticks
200g Ocado Own Range Carrots, peeled and cut into long matchsticks
1 Ocado Own Range red plum, destoned and cut into 8 slim wedges (slightly underripe if possible)
1 (70g) pack Ocado Own Range Wild Rocket
1 handful coriander sprigs, leaves picked (optional)

Method

Step 1

Take the venison steak out of the fridge, and its pack, to come to room temperature (no longer than 2 hrs).

Step 2

As you approach cooking time, mix the garlic, ginger, fish sauce, soy sauce, 2 tbsp avocado oil, sesame oil and lime juice in a shallow dish that’s a good size for the steak, and will fit the prepared veg and plum wedges later. I use a rectangular Pyrex dish measuring 25cm x 20cm and it’s the perfect size. The marinade won’t come up the dish very far, but that’s fine.

Step 3

Pour the reserved 1 tbsp avocado oil into a sturdy non-stick frying pan in which the venison will fit snugly and put it over a high heat. (If you don’t have a small enough frying pan, be sure to add more avocado oil or your pan will burn.) Once the pan is very hot, cook the venison steak for 3 mins a side (and do turn the heat down to medium if the pan is getting too smoky, of course). It should look seared on the outside, but still feel undercooked when you press it; it will cook a little more as it sits in its marinade. If there’s any fridge chill about the venison before you start, bump this up to 4 mins a side.

Step 4

Once the cooking time is up, take the venison out of the pan and put it straight into the marinade, giving it 5 mins each side in the dish.

Step 5

Transfer the venison to a chopping board. Tip the strips of pepper and carrot and plum wedges into the remaining marinade and toss well.

Step 6

Cut the venison into thin slices, slightly on the diagonal and against the grain of the meat, add them to the marinade dish with the veg and plum slices; toss again, coating everything very thoroughly.

Step 7

Arrange the rocket on a platter or divide between 2 plates, and pile the meat, veg and plum slices on top of the leaves, scraping out any marinade as you go. If you wish, scatter the leaves from a few coriander sprigs on top.

Tips or serving suggestions

Don’t worry about the pinkness of the venison: lean meat is best relatively rare. Besides, once it has sat in the marinade, it will – so long as you’ve let it come to room temperature before cooking it – be perfectly pink rather than ruby-rare.