Quasis (rump) of venison with recipe

Ingredients

• 1 kg (approx 180 g pp) rump of venison
• 4 soup spoons Dijon mustard
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 400 g sliced, fresh cep mushrooms
• 4 tbsp duck fat
• 15 ml hare’s blood
• 4 g green peppercorns
• 200 ml red burgundy wine
• 50 ml cognac
• 4 tbsp redcurrant jelly
• Freshly milled salt and pepper

• 1 kg red cabbage, thinly sliced
• 2 large shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 20 cooked chestnuts
• 25 ml malt vinegar
• 20 g demerara sugar
• 20 g raisins
• 100 ml red burgundy wine
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 1 orange zest and juice
• 1 soup spoon duck fat
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Pinch grated nutmeg
• 2 cloves
• 4 juniper berries
• Salt and pepper

• 1 kg King Edward potatoes
• 1 egg
• 300 g pasta flour
• Salt and pepper
• Grated nutmeg
• 50 g grated parmesan
• Double cream
• Olive oil

Quasis of venison
1. Season the venison with freshly milled salt and pepper and roll in the Dijon mustard, cover and keep in the fridge overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 220°C. In a roasting tray heat the duck fat, place the already seasoned quasis in the hot duck fat, seal and brown. Place this into the oven with the sprigs of thyme and 3 whole cloves of garlic, and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the roasting dish, cover with foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Remove all fat from the roasting dish and deglaze with a little water, keeping the juices to one side to finish the sauce later.
3. Pan fry the sliced ceps in duck fat until golden brown, add the finely chopped garlic cloves, cook for a few more seconds, place in a serving dish and deglaze the pan with half of the Cognac, once again keeping this for the sauce.
4. To finish the sauce mix together all the deglazed juices in a pan, add the red wine, the rest of the Cognac, the green peppercorns and redcurrant jelly, bring to the boil and reduce slightly. Take off the heat and leave to cool a little; add to this the hare’s blood a little at a time it may not be necessary to use all the blood depending on the reduction already achieved.
Red Cabbage Compote
5. Into a heavy-based casserole dish place the duck fat, thinly sliced shallots and crushed cloves of garlic, cook gently until soft but not coloured.
6. To this add the juice of the orange, red wine, vinegar and the chicken stock, keep simmering gently. Then add the raisins, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, cloves, juniper berries, the zest of orange and the sugar. Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes, season to taste.
7. Add the thinly sliced red cabbage, cook for 25 minutes. In the last 10 minutes of cooking time add the chestnuts.
8. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving. The cabbage will keep for several days in the fridge (without the added chestnuts).
Potato Gnocchi
9. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Wash and bake the potatoes until soft, remove the insides and pass through a fine sieve. Place in a bowl. Season then beat in the egg quickly. Add two handfuls of the pasta flour and bind together until a silky smooth dough is achieved. Place the rest of the flour on to a pastry table, tip out the dough and knead until all the flour is incorporated. Do not overwork the dough. Divide the dough into 4 and roll into long sausage shapes the thickness of your finger, cut at an angle into 2 cm long pieces.
10. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the gnocchi, reduce to a simmer for 2-3 minutes the gnocchi will rise to the top when cooked. Remove from the pan with a sieve, drain and place in a tray, sprinkle with olive oil. The cooked gnocchi will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days.
11. Place the gnocchi into an ovenproof dish, pour over a little double cream and sprinkle with parmesan, grate over a little nutmeg, cook for 10 minutes until starting to colour.
To Serve
12. Sauce the plates, add a little of the red cabbage, slice the rump and place on top, add the ceps and gnocchi.