As soon as the temperatures are lower, we are unmistakably looking for comfort food. I am so lucky that I work closely with local suppliers and from time to time, I am first pick for the best of seasonal.
My work also includes ensuring that our ecosystem is balanced and the benefit of interacting with small independents, means that I always know where the produce is coming from. The venison used with making this pie, is a wild local roe silverside, that was cooked until tender, before baking in a golden shortcrust pastry casing.
Ingredients:
- 450 g roe venison silverside diced into 1x1 cm cubes
- 30 g dried porcini mushrooms – alternatively 200 g preferred mushrooms
- 130 g diced pancetta
- 2 celery sticks – diced
- 2 carrots – diced
- 1 onion – diced
- 3 cloves of black garlic – pasted – optional, however this really gives a great depth of flavour
- Bay leaves and thyme to taste
- 500 ml vegetable stock – made of a stock cube and 500 ml boiled water. This will be used to bloom your dried porcini
- Flour to dust
- S&P to taste
- 1 pack of already made shortcrust pastry block
Method:
- Bloom your dried mushrooms with 500ml of boiling water and add a vegetable stock cube to it. Let sit for min 30 minutes.
- Place the flour and seasoning in a freezer bag. Add the diced venison and shake the bag until all the pieces are fully coated in flour. Remove the meat from the bag making sure all excess flour has been dusted off; this will ensure a light coating.
- In a saucepan, place the pancetta and slowly heat up the pan to render the fat down. Once the fat is rendered, remove the crispy pancetta and brown your venison. Make sure to have a large enough saucepan or brown in two times. If the pancetta hasn’t released enough oil, add 2 tbsp of light olive oil to the pan before browning your meat.
- Once the meat has been browned, start building your dish. Deglaze the pan with a splash of the mushrooms’ stock or ¼ glass of red wine. Make sure to lift off the bottom of the pan, all the important flavour. Add your diced vegetables, fresh bay leaves and thyme. Cover with a lid and let the sofrito soften slightly.
- Drain your mushrooms and chop them roughly. Add them to the sofrito and stir fully. Add the browned meat, the black garlic paste and cover with the stock.
- Bring the pie filling to a vivid simmer and then lower your heat to minimum. Cover firmly with a lid, to ensure all the steam is trapped, and cook for approximately 1 hr until the meat is tender. Depending on how big the meat has been cut, you may want to add a further 30 minutes. Check the cooking progress every 30 minutes.
- Once the meat has been cooked to the preferred consistency, separate this from the delicious gravy and set aside to cool down.
- To build the pie, divide the shortcrust pastry into two parts, one slightly larger than the other. Roll the pastry to about 3mm thickness and line the pie dish with the larger pastry. Leave the pastry slightly hanging off the rim of the dish and dock the base using a fork.
- Fill the pie dish with the slow cooked venison, drizzle over 2/3 tbsp of gravy and cover the pie with the other pastry. Crimp the sides with your favourite decorative pattern and create the steam hole. Reroll the pastry and make some decorations and brush with egg wash mixed with a touch of double cream and a pinch of salt.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C/Gas Mark 4 for about 50 minutes or until the pie looks golden and crispy. Serve with the remaining gravy reheated and your choice of seasonal sides.
Tips:
- Make sure to break the bay leaves in more parts to really capture the scent.
- Little time? You can slow cook the meat in the oven and you could use filo pastry only to top your pie filling for a crunchy topping.
- For more indulgence, brown the meat in unsalted butter instead of olive oil.
