Month: August 2025

Venison Tagine

I have no idea if this is authentic, but it is very good. It could be made with the spices listed here, or by substituting Ras el Hanout, a mixed spice blend from Morocco. It is derived from a similar recipe in Norman Tebbit’s book, The Game Cook. 

INGREDIENTS: 

  • 1kg diced venison
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 tsp hot paprika
  • olive oil
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • a handful of chopped mint
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1.5 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 
  • (or use 2 tbsp ras el hanout instead of all of the spices)
  • 600ml stock
  • 250ml red wine
  • 4 tbsp tomato puree
  • 250g carrots, chopped into large chunks
  • 250g chopped butternut squash
  • Sweet peppers, chopped into large pieces. 
  • 250g ready-to-eat dried apricots
  • juice of a lemon
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

METHOD:

  • Mix the venison with the salt, a pinch of black pepper and 1 tsp paprika, and leave to allow the flavour to develop for at least an hour. 
  • Set the oven to 160C
  • Heat the oil in a large casserole dish, and fry off the meat, remove and set aside. 
  • Add the onions to the oil, and as they start to soften, add the garlic, and fry for another five minutes or so. 
  • Add half of the mint and all of the spices, mix well, fry for a minute, and then add the red wine, stock, and tomato puree. Bring to a simmer and add back the venison, and the chopped carrots. 
  • Cook in the oven for around an hour and half to two hours. 
  • Add the butternut sqush, apricots and peppers, along with the lemon juice, the rest of the mint and cayenne pepper to taste. Return to the oven for another 30 minutes, so that the vegetables are done. 

 

New potatoes with peas, coriander, pickled lemons

I sourced some pickled lemons from Eriskay shop, amazing well-run and well-stocked little shop at the hall. (Other local retailers may also stock them). I used them in this dish from Ottolenghi’s book ‘Simple’, which also made use of some fantastic fresh new salad potatoes from Tagsa Horticulture Project. I served this with some sausages, absolutely lovely. They would also be good as a side dish with lamb. 

INGREDIENTS: 

  • 300g frozen peas
  • 2 green chillies, finely chopped
  • 1 preserved lemon, pips out, 
  • 15g coriander leaves, roughly chopped
  • 60ml olive oil
  • 1 small lemon, use zest from 1/2 the lemon, and around 5ml juice
  • 750g new potatoes, chop the larger potatoes in half if required.
  • salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

  • Add boiling water to the peas in a small pan, bring back to the boil and cook for one minute before draining. Set aside until you need them. 
  • In a food processor, add 2/3 of the peas, the preserved lemon, green chillies, coriander leaves, olive oil, the lemon juice and zest, and give the mixture a buzz to create a rough paste, and set aside until needed. 
  • Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the new potatoes, with their skins still on. Boil them for around 15 minutes, and then drain. 
  • Return the potatoes to the large pan, and give them a squish with the masher so that some of the potato chunks are still whole. Stir in the cooked peas and the blitzed pea mixture, stir and season to taste. You could add another squeeze of lemon and a coriander leaf garnish.