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Venison Wellington
Serves 3 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 600g venison saddle fillet
- olive oil, to fry
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 200g chestnut mushrooms, chopped
- 1 rosemary sprig, chopped
- 80g cooked green lentils
- 1 egg, plus 1 yolk, beaten
- horseradish sauce, to serve
For the rough puff pastry
- 200g butter, chilled and diced
- 400g stoneground white flour, plus extra to dust
- 1tbsp fine salt
Method
A few hours before, make the pastry. In a mixing bowl, add the butter to the flour. Add the salt and slowly pour in 200ml water. Gently mix together, without breaking up the butter, until you have a rough dough – it will feel quite dry. Wrap in baking paper and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
Remove the dough from the fridge and, using plenty of flour, roll it into a 1cm thick rectangle. To laminate the dough, fold either end to the centre, then fold in half again. You should end up with something that looks a little like a book.
Roll, turn the pastry and repeat the process. Chill the dough in the fridge for another hour.
Repeat the laminating with two more folds: roll, fold, roll, fold. You should have folded the pastry four times in total. Chill the pastry in the fridge for another hour.
Generously season the venison. Add a little oil to a very hot pan set over a high heat, add the fillet and brown until golden and just seared – this should take no more than 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 220C/ 200C F/Gas 7. In a separate pan, fry the garlic, mushrooms and chopped rosemary in a little oil until soft. Remove from the heat, then add the cooked lentils and blend to a paste in a food processor.
Roll out the rough puff pastry to approx. 1cm thick. Spread a thin layer of the mushroom paste in the middle of the pastry, top with the seared venison, then spread the remaining mushroom paste all over the top and sides of the fillet.
Fold over the bottom half of the pastry. Lightly brush the rest of the sheet with beaten egg and roll the whole thing around the meat to encase. Neatly fold under the edge of the pastry to create a parcel, then seal the sides down by using a fork to press down the excess pastry. Brush the entire parcel with beaten egg and cook for 10–15 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly on a wire rack. Slice and serve with a dollop of horseradish sauce and a grind of black pepper.
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