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Spiced Venison Stew
Difficulty level Easy
As one might imagine, I spend a lot of my time cooking and eating, but my other great passion is reading. It makes perfect sense that the book club I belong to reads books that are food related. We take the theme of the book we are reading and cook a dinner around it. Last meeting we made a fantastic Indian dinner and this time we were cooking Italian.
I mentioned that I had a pasta machine, so everyone decided to come to my house for dinner. What a feast we had, too. We started with a scallop antipasto dish, then moved on to a stracciatella soup with spinach, then homemade pasta with a tomato, anchovy and caper sauce, then venison stew with a side dish of a spinach tart and homemade sourdough bread. Dessert was a fantastic amaretto cheesecake.
This is a great, inexpensive way to entertain, even if you don't belong to a book club. I have a good friend who has a large party every month of so, and she asks people to bring any food they want. She gets to see her friends often, and because it is pot luck, she can afford to do it. My contribution to our Italian dinner was the pasta and the venison stew. I got the venison from my farmers' market and it cost me under $30.00 for 8 people.
I happen to really love venison, and the farmer I buy it from supplies really excellent meat. However, if you prefer, you could make this recipe with a beef chuck roast.
INGREDIENTS
| 6 tbsp | olive oil |
| 2 lbs | boneless venison, cut into 2 inch pieces |
| 2 cups | dry red wine |
| 2 | medium onions, chopped |
| 2 | medium carrots, chopped |
| 1/2 cup | finely chopped celery |
| 1/4 cup | finely chopped fresh parsley |
| 1 | garlic clove, finely chopped |
| 5 | juniper berries |
| 4 | fresh sage leaves |
| 1/2 tsp | dried marjoram |
| 1 | small art apple, peeled, cored and chopped |
| salt and pepper to taste | |
PREPARATION:
- In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 3 tbsp of the olive oil. Dry the meat well. Place a few pieces at a time in the pan without crowding and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides. Transfer the meat to a platter. Brown the remaining meat in the same manner.
- Drain off the fat in the skillet. Add 1/2 cup of the wine and bring it to a boil over high heat, scraping the browned bits off the pan.
- In a large casserole over medium heat, heat the remaining oil. Add the onions, carrots, celery, parsley, garlic, juniper berries, sage, marjoram and apple. Cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
- Add the meat, skillet juices and remaining wine. Bring to a simmer. Add salt and pepper. partially cover the pan and reduce heat to low. Cook stirring occasionally, until the meat is fork tender, about 3 hours.
From A Fresh Taste of Italy by Michele Scicolone
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