Smoked Venison Steak on a bed of new potatoes and beetroot

This dish should be made with smoked venison haunch (leg) steaks. If you can't get them then ordinary haunch steaks cooked to medium/rare will suffice.

Serves 4

4 Smoked Haunch Steaks
4-6 Beets
500g New Potatoes
250g Cabbage
1tsp Cumin or Black Mustard Seeds
1tbs Sunflower oil

Sauce:
250ml red wine
1tbs fresh or dried juniper berries
1tbs Sloe/Redcurrant Jelly
1tsp Fresh Thyme
1tbs Balsamic Vinegar
salt and pepper

This is a warm salad that has a definite Autumnal feel to it! Smoked Venison is amazing, and juniper dressing is the ideal twist!

First, cook your beets. They will take quite a while, scrub them and gently simmer them in lightly salted water. Do the same with the potatoes. Try to get small, waxy new potatoes for this dish. When cooked, drain and leave in the pot to keep warm (this is a warm/cold dish so no need for these to be hot).

Make your sauce... add all the ingredients to a small pan and gently simmer 'till volume has reduced by at least 75%. You should enf up with a dark red and slightly sticky sauce. Allow to cool slightly.

Toy cook the cabbage, heat a little sunflower oil in a large pot, when hot at the cumin seeds and then a few seconds later, the cabbage. Stir fry on a high heat for 2-3mins, reduce to a low heat and place the lid on the pot.

To Serve:

Slice the beets and spuds into 1cm thick slices. Carve the Venison (if not smoked, fresh venison steak cooked to medium-rare) into 3-5mm thick diagonal slices. Make a layer of potatoes in the middle of the plate, followed by a layer of beetroot. Place the Venison on top, pour over your red wine and juniper dressing. Place the cabbage on the side.

Easy.