After my meal at Howie’s in Edinburgh last week involving venison leg steak and very disappointing faux pomme fondant (conglomerate) and bramble and juniper sauce, the general dissatisfaction made me obliged to cook my own version of the meal at home at the weekend. The hardship!
I was irrationally upset about the denial of the pomme fondant and all week there was a little ‘je ne sais quoi’ missing from my life. Good to get these things out of your system, so a culinary cure was called for.
I was determined to make this a ‘Uist meal’ as much as I could and to use what I had by the way of stored veg, or growing veg in the raised beds. Over the last month, the raised beds have been left almost to manage themselves (with the exception of garlic planting and associated rodent management).
Sprout success – exploding buds pending…
This was telling when I saw to my horror that one variety of sprouts (Darkmar 21 – organic seeds), in their apparently exceptional happiness with the growing conditions were at risk of buds exploding forth from their stems. Dense packing of the buds had kept a lid on the situation, but intervention was urgently needed. It is the first time I’ve grown a mid-season variety so don’t usually check sprouts until at least December. At least I had found one veg for my meal.
So, for stored veg, I recovered some carrots that were layered in sand in the shipping container. To leave them outside is to risk sustaining the rat population, as I found out to my chagrin last winter. I pulled up carrot tops, the root removed by stealth using mole-like tunnelling action below ground. I suppose it could have been a Were-Rabbit. To keep them safe in the ground I would need “Anti-Pesto”, for that coveted Golden Carrot award to be mine….
I grew a mixture of 3 varieties of carrots this year: a standard Nantes orange variety I plant each year (in case other varieties under test fail me), Yellowstone and Purple Dragon (heritage), for colour contrasts. The dry, cold spring meant I had to work very hard to get them to germinate, but I got there in the end with tenacity and successional sowing.
- Carrots stored in a fish box found while beach combing, sand left over from a building project. Recycling is part of life in the Hebrides.
I turned to my stored potatoes to select the best variety for the pomme fondant. I needed a waxy variety that would retain its shape during cooking, so chose Edgecote purple, a heritage variety first listed in 1916. It has yellow flesh and purple skin.
Trug – a gardening icon in Uist. Rachel De Thame would be proud.
Pomme fondant with butter, thyme and garlic.
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Cut out a cylinder of potato about 2.5 cm thick using the scone cutter. I used 4 cm cutter, as I wanted a uniform size and my potatoes were quite small. Trim the edges to prevent them sticking in the pan – and to make them look neat.
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Put the butter in the ovenproof frying pan on a medium heat with the garlic and thyme, salt and pepper.
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Once it is melted and starts to hiss and bubble gently, add the potatoes. Turn after 3-5 minutes. They should be golden and the butter will be turning slightly nutty, but take care that it does not burn.
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When both sides are coloured, add the chicken stock. Add enough to come about 3/4 way up the sides of the potato.
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Bring to a simmer and place in the oven for 15 -20 minutes. Most of the stock should by then be absorbed into the delectably soft and flavoursome tattie.
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This leaves time to deal with the venison and sprouts. I start the sauce at the same time with the potatoes as it needs this amount of time to develop depth of flavour.
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Heat a griddle pan until almost smoking and add some groundnut or olive oil.
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Season the venison steaks, place in the hot pan and add a dollop of butter.
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Turn after 3 minutes and cook on the other side for the same time. They should be nicely caramelised with lines across each from the griddle pan.
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Remove from the pan (if the hot griddle pan is placed in the oven, the steak will continue to cook and will be overcooked) and place in a warmed roasting tray and into the oven to rest for about 5 minutes.
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Put the red wine and shallots in a pan, bring to the boil at a medium heat and simmer until the wine has reduced by 1/3.
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Add the stock, crushed juniper berries and brambles and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the rowan jelly and let it dissolve.
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Strain the sauce through a chinois into a clean pan and whisk in the butter cubes a few at a time. Season and taste. A bit more rowan jelly can be dissolved in at this stage, if required.
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Remove outer leaves from sprouts and retain for garnish (see below).
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Pierce the bottom of each sprout with a knife and place in a steamer. This will speed up cooking of the harder base. Steam for about 7 minutes, until just tender.
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Fry the pancetta until crisp and golden and remove with a slotted spoon. Drain on kitchen paper.
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Half the sprouts and add to the same pan, add the crushed juniper berries.
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As the sprouts soften and colour after a few minutes, add the bacon back into the pan and season. They are ready to serve.
Venison with pomme fondant, bramble and juniper sauce with sprouts. Sprouts married with bacon and juniper hit the spot.
Food and Forage Hebrides 