You could make this into a pie, a stew, or a steamed pudding. I added dumplings, rather than going out to buy potatoes. The venison came from Storas Uibhist. You can get this locally by visiting Eat Drink Hebrides.
INGREDIENTS:
For the stew:
- 500g venison, cubed
- 1 large onion
- 1 small celeriac
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- 1 bayleaf
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 150ml guiness
- 100ml stock
- salt and pepper
For the dumplings:
- 125g self-raising flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 50g shredded suet
- 1/2 tsp mixed herbs
- 3-4 tbsp cold water
METHOD:
- Chop the onion finely, peel and dice the celeriac. Heat the oil in a heavy casserole pan and fry the vegetables until they are just beginning to brown.
- Add the herbs and the meat, and fry until the meat is browned.
- Sprinkle in the cornflour, stir, and then slowly add the Guinness and stock. Bring to a simmer, and then season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Put the lid on the casserole dish and put it in the oven at 140C for an hour and a half – then add the dumplings.
- Make the dumplings so that you can add them to the stew for the final cooking time.
- Mix the flour, salt, herbs and suet in a bowl and then add the water to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured surface, and cut into 8 bits. Roll each dumpling into a ball, coating with a little flour.
- Drop the dumplings into the stew, and return to the oven at 200C for a further 20 minutes.
If you are going to make the stew into a pudding, make a suet pastry using 110g self-raising flour, 110g fresh white breadcrumbs, 110g suet, a pinch of salt and approx 140ml cold water. Line a greased pudding bowl with 3/4 of the pastry, fill with the stew, cap with the rest of the pastry, and steam for 2 hours.