Venison with Pierre Koffmann's raspberry and bitter chocolate sauce
Three sources on one plate: Pierre Koffmann's venison with raspberry and bitter chocolate sauce (BBC Food, from Saturday Kitchen Best Bites), Cristy Sharp's roast potato guide, and the cabbage and smoked bacon side from Koffmann's BBC recipe. I also watched Koffmann cook it on video. Where I changed something, it's marked as mine.
The venison came from Watson's Farm Shop: two thin steaks, about 294 g in total, rather than the four 150 g loins in the recipe. The recipe is written for four, and I cooked it for me.
Koffmann's raspberry and bitter chocolate sauce
Ingredients exactly as the BBC page lists them (serves 4).
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp finely chopped shallot
- 25ml/1fl oz raspberry vinegar
- 500ml/18fl oz red wine
- 150ml/¼ pint veal stock
- 50g/1¾oz dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids), broken into pieces
- 30g/1oz unsalted butter
The method, as written: sweat the shallots in the oil over a medium heat for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the vinegar and allow it to evaporate completely. Add the wine and reduce it to about a quarter of its original volume (you should be left with 125ml/4fl oz), then add the stock and chocolate. When the chocolate has melted, whisk in the butter. Cover and keep warm.
What I changed: the recipe asks for 70% chocolate. I used Lindt 85%, and with the amount I added it was too bitter, so I stirred jam into the sauce to bring it back. If you use 85%, use less of it or taste as you go.
Venison
From the same page, per the recipe: 4 pieces venison loin (about 150g/5½oz each) and 50g/1¾oz unsalted butter, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Season the loins well, heat the butter in another frying pan over a medium heat and cook the venison for 4-5 minutes on each side for rare. The page adds that the cooking time depends on the thickness of the meat. Then rest it on a plate.
Cristy Sharp's roast potatoes
Ingredients and method as in her guide.
- 1.5kg King Edward or Maris Piper potatoes
- Goose fat (enough to generously cover the base of your tray)
- 1 bulb garlic, halved (optional)
- Fresh rosemary or thyme (optional)
- Flaky sea salt
- Cut the potatoes into even chunks.
- Parboil in salted water for 10 minutes, until soft around the edges but still holding in the centre.
- Drain and give them a proper shake in a colander or sieve to rough up the outsides.
- Heat the goose fat in the roasting tray in the oven until shimmering.
- Tip the potatoes into the hot fat, turn to coat, season generously with salt, add the garlic and herbs, and finish with another pinch of salt.
- Roast at 220°C (fan 200°C), turning every 30 minutes, for about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes in total, until deeply golden, crisp all over and sounding hollow when tapped.
- Don't overcrowd the tray, and serve straight away.
What I changed: Cristy says to peel the potatoes fully. I didn't peel mine.
Cabbage, carrot and bacon
From Koffmann's BBC recipe, the "cabbage and smoked bacon" part: savoy cabbage with carrots, bacon lardons, garlic, butter and double cream. I left out the celeriac the recipe also uses.
Plate
Cabbage down first, sliced venison on top, the dark sauce spooned around, and the potatoes to the side.