Tired of turkey?

Well here is an alternative suggestion for you from David Thornton Head Chef at Hilton Edinburgh Airport:-

Venison Loin stuffed with Stornoway Black Pudding

Ingredients

7oz of venison loin

15gram Stornoway black pudding

35gram carrot

35gram parsnip

100gram chive mash potato

2-3 rashers of smoked streaky bacon

10ml Heather honey

3 each Pea shoots

75ml of game sauce

Half a punnet of brambles (blackberries if not available)

Method

Place a sharp knife and make a hole the length of the venison to create a small hole in the middle, form the black pudding into a thin sausage and push down the hole in the middle. Place the rashers of bacon on a clean board side by side and place the venison loin onto the bacon two thirds of the way up, season the venison with salt & pepper and then wrap the bacon around the venison making sure that it overlaps and forms the shape of a nice thick sausage.

Next prepare the carrots & parsnips by peeling them and top & tailing, then cut lengthways and then into roughly cut diamond shapes (the shapes can be changed to your preference) blanch the carrots & parsnips till they are still a little crunchy but not raw.

Seal the bacon wrapped venison in a hot pan with a little oil & butter until golden brown all over then place in a hot oven 170 degrees C for about 7 minutes then turn over and continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes then leave to rest for a further 5 minutes to allow the venison to relax (this should be medium rare, cook longer if you want the venison medium or medium well to taste)

In a separate pan heat a little oil up and place the carrots & parsnips in and leave to colour on all sides with a nice golden brown colour, when this is achieved add seasoning & the heather honey and toss to coat the carrots & parsnips in the honey for sweetness.

For the sauce heat up the game sauce and add the juices from the venison & the brambles to infuse the sauce.

 

David also suggests how to serve the dish:-

On a plate of your choice, pipe the mash potato into a spiral just above centre on the plate, spoon the carrots & parsnips just next to it and cut the venison on an angle to show off the pink colour & black pudding and place in between the potato and vegetables, then place spoonfuls of the sauce at either end and garnish with the pea shoots and enjoy!!