Recipe for the weekend – Venison

Fresh from taking part in Netflix “The Final Table”, one of the world’s highest rated and most prestigious culinary shows, Graham Campbell, who is Scotland’s youngest ever Michelin starred chef, has returned home to Dundee to embrace his next challenge.

As new Head Chef of one of the most popular restaurants in Dundee, Italian Grill, just next to The Caird Hall in City Square, he joins husband and wife restauranteurs, Jonathan and Martine Horne, in developing the bar and grill, which offers Italian cuisine with a strong Scottish twist, to a new level of excellence. Here he offers a recipe for our readers to try

Italian food with more than a Scottish twist, Italian Grill has launched a new menu, and is making the very most of Graham‘s talents with an open galley and Chef’s Table where diners can join him to enjoy dishes such as cep gnocchi, pork cheek, rigatoni Bolognese, and this stunning Highland Venison dish. A seven course taster menu and a cocktail masterclass is also available.

Highland Venison Pear- Chocolate – Butternut Squash -Juniper

Serves 4

Venison  
4x 120g venison loin
Vegetable Oil 
20g unsalted butter

Sear venison in a pan until coloured all the way round add butter place in a pre heated oven at 180°c and cook until temperatures reaches 55°c internally about 5-7 minutes 

Poached pear

1 pear pealed and cut into 1/8ths
1 cup white dessert wine –
1/4cup sugar
30ml brandy

1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves

Mix all ingredients together and bring to boil leave to cool

Butternut squash
1 butternut squash pealed
200ml double cream 
200ml semi skimmed milk 
10ml vegetable oil 

Cut the top 1/2 of butternut squash into 3″X1″ Baton’s 
Cook in salted water
Put the rest of the butternut squash in a pan add 5ml of oil and cook for 5 minutes with out colour, then add milk and cream and simmer until soft 
Once cooked blend to a purée and pass through a fine chinois and keep to one side

Chocolate sauce

50g 70% chocolate
10ml sherry vinegar 
10ml soya sauce 
20ml rapeseed oil 

Put all ingredients in a bowl and melt over a double boiler 

Venison Sauce
6 juniper berries
1 clove
4 allspice berries – 
1 cup red wine
2 sprigs lemon thyme 
1tsp Dijon mustard
10g chocolate 70%
200ml beef stock 
200ml chicken stock

In a pot but juniper, clove, allspice and red wine reduce to nothing then add stocks and reduce by 1/2, then add the Dijon, lemon thyme and the chocolate pass through a fine strainer season with salt to taste

Crispy Kale
20g queen Kale
500ml vegetable oil
Salt

Heat the oil in a pan to 180°c add Kale until crispy dry on a clean cloth and season

To Plate

Smear the chocolate on the plate, put a dollop of butternut squash purée and either end of the chocolate  place the batons just next to the purée.

Cut the venison in 1/2 place 1 price on the chocolate and one just off centre.

Put 1 bit of pear next to each portion on venison. Place 1 bit of chicory on top of the bottom piece of venison. Place I bit of crispy Kale on top of the other piece of venison and sauce. 

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