Marinated venison salad with ricotta and fried polenta
- Prepare
- over 2 hours
- Cook
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Serve
- Serves 6
Show off your cooking skills for a dinner party with this venison loin that is baked, charred and sliced to perfection.
For this recipe you will need a chef’s blow torch.
Ingredients
For the marinated venison
- 2 heaped tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 heaped tbsp ground ginger
- 6–8 juniper berries, crushed
- 1 tbsp runny honey
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
- 1 x 400g/14oz wild venison loin
- pinch salt
For the polenta chips
For the onion marmalade
- 100g/3½oz unsalted butter
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 juniper berries, crushed
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves only
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
For the vinaigrette
- 1 tsp runny honey
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp white balsamic vinegar
- pinch salt
To serve
Method
To make the marinated venison, add all the ingredients except the venison to a medium bowl and mix to combine. Spread the marinade all over the venison loins, then leave to marinate.
To make the polenta chips, grease a 20x15cm/8x10in baking tray with butter and line with baking paper.
Heat a medium saucepan and add the 25g/1oz butter. Once melted, add the garlic and cook until golden-brown. Stir in the thyme, rosemary and 500ml/18fl oz water. Once the water is bubbling, quickly add the polenta in one go and whisk until it starts to thicken. Season with a pinch of salt.
Remove from the heat and spread the polenta onto the lined baking tray. Place in the fridge to set for at least 1 hour.
To make the onion marmalade, heat a medium sauté pan and add half of the butter. Cut the remaining butter into cubes and set aside. Once the butter is hot and melted in the pan, add the onion and juniper berries and cook for 3–4 minutes, or until soft.
Add the rosemary and thyme along with the cubes of butter, adding one cube at a time while stirring constantly. Stir in the honey, vinegar and 100ml/3½fl oz water then allow to cook for 4–5 minutes with a lid on.
To make the vinaigrette, place all the ingredients in a clean jam jar. Place the lid on top and shake until all the ingredients are incorporated. Any leftovers can be kept in the fridge for a week.
To cook the venison, preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7.
Place the venison directly on the oven rack and cook for 6–8 minutes, depending on how you like your venison cooked. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, remove the polenta from the fridge and turn out onto a chopping board. Remove the baking paper and cut into 2–3cm/¾–1¼in cubes. Dust in fine polenta.
To cook the polenta chips, heat a medium frying pan and add 4 tablespoons oil. Once hot, add the polenta chips and cook turning occasionally until crispy all over – this will take 8–10 minutes over a medium heat. Drain on kitchen paper, then season with salt once removed from the pan. Set aside.
To serve, place the beetroot in a medium bowl, then add 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette dressing and toss everything together.
Transfer the venison to a baking tray and use a blow torch to char all over. Once cool enough to handle, thinly slice the venison.
Place the onion marmalade on the base of the plate, then top with the thinly sliced venison, dressed beetroot, a few spoons of ricotta and the polenta chips. Sprinkle over the parsley and thyme leaves to garnish.
