A recipe to do at home on Valentine’s Day – easy and good value with all the tips from the top anyone could need to produce a heartwarming supper for two.
Venison au Poivre for Two
Venison is delicious, unusual and incredibly good for you. Thanks to companies like Donald Russell (www.donaldrussell.com) and Blackface (www.blackface.co.uk) , both online butchers based in Scotland, it is now incredibly easy to place an order on the internet and have a box of steaks arrive on your doorstep a few days later. What’s more, it is better value than beef at the moment.
Steak au poivre may be a seventies cult dish, but there are reasons why dishes become cult in the first place. The creamy sauce laced with the flavour of brandy and dark, rich-scented peppercorns feels incredibly luxurious, especially if you pair it with venison instead of the more usual beef. It may be a simple dish but it tastes a million dollars.
Preparation time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking time: 5-10 minutes
Ingredients
• 1 tbsp each of black and whitepeppercorns
• 4 venison medallions
• 30g butter
• ½ onion or 2 baby shallots
• 1/4 beef stock cube
• 100ml brandy
• 150ml water
• 75ml crème fraiche
Up to two hours before you are ready to eat, crush the peppercorns in a pestle and mortar and press them into the medallions. The pestle and mortar gives the peppercorns the perfect texture for this dish, but if you don’t have one, put the peppercorns into a hard-wearing plastic bag and bash them with a rolling pin. Leave the meat aside for the pepper flavour to penetrate the meat. Pre-heat the oven to 60C and put in two plates to warm.
TIP
The secret is to take the steaks out of the fridge about 10 minutes before you cook them so that they can come up to room temperature. Then, the only other must is to get your pan (a heavy steak at the highest temperature possible. -bottomed frying-pan is ideal) smoking hot before you even add fat to it. That way you can really sear the
Five minutes before you are ready to eat, heat a large heavy-bottomed frying-pan until it is smoking hot and then add half the butter. When the butter is sizzling (the pan should now be extremely hot), add the medallions and cook on one side for 2 minutes (if the medallions are thin you could cook for less – say 90 seconds), before turning and cooking for a further 60-90 seconds.
Venison is very lean so is best eaten rare or it tends to get dry and chewy. When eaten rare the meat is so tender that it is almost like biting through butter. It will continue cooking in the oven while it rests so put the medallions on one of the plates whilst you make the sauce.
Add the rest of the butter to the pan, turn it down to a medium heat and add the shallots and stock cube. Sweat for five minutes so that the shallots soften but do not colour before pouring in the brandy and water to de-glaze the pan. Simmer the juices rapidly for a few minutes before turning the heat right down and stirring in the crème fraiche.
Simmer for a few minutes more to reduce the crème fraiche and check for seasoning Serve with a crisp, green salad and some small, waxy potatoes that you can either roast until crisp in the oven, or steam until tender. It is delicious accompanied with some kind of jelly like rosehip, quince or redcurrant.
About The Author
Thomasina Miers is a member of the expert panel of style journalists and trendsetters who vet and select gifts for The Handpicked Collection , a website and catalogue featuring a selection of unique present ideas
Thomasina was winner of BBC 2’s MasterChef in 2005 and has since co-presented Channel 4’s Wild Gourmets and A Cook’s Tour of Spain as well as writing books. Cook and Wild Gourmets and opening two Wahaca restaurants in London serving real Mexican market food. A very busy girl, she somehow also finds time to write regularly for Waitrose Food Illustrated and The Saturday Times.
Cuisine Inspired By The Culture Of Mexico
Love Mexican foods? You’re not alone. Mexico-inspired fare has been enjoyed by people around the globe for centuries. But if you’ve worried that you’re just not a good-enough cook to put together a dish reminiscent of warm, tropical Mexico, fear not. Below are some quick dishes that anyone can put together. Your guests (or family feasters) will definitely say, “Ole!” when they taste these tidbits.
Quick Enchiladas
What shouts “Mexico” more than a good enchilada? You can make some very quickly with this fast recipe. Though it’s not exactly what you’d find in Mexico City, it’ll sate the appetites of your ninos and ninas.
Ingredients: broiled or grilled chicken (you can even get this pre-made and pre-cooked; all you have to do is warm it up!); shredded lettuce; diced tomatoes; diced onions; low fat sour cream; low fat Monterey jack cheese; sliced black olives; sliced green olives; salsa (mild, medium, or spicy); and numerous 10” or 12” flour burritos.
Directions: Assemble your burritos by laying down a flour burrito, spreading the sour cream in the middle of it, then layering all the other items except for the cheese and salsa. Wrap it up and put it on a baking sheet. Continue making enchiladas until all burritos have been used. Then, sprinkle salsa and cheese on top of the enchiladas. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes to melt the cheese and warm them up. Enjoy!
Mexico-inspired bean dip
This bean dip is quick to assemble and tastes amazing. Serve it warm and watch it disappear.
Ingredients: one can of low fat refried beans; one small container of low fat sour cream; one 8 ounce package of Monterey jack cheese; one small jar of sliced black olives; one jar of salsa (your favorite); and low fat baked tortilla chips.
Directions: In a casserole dish, layer the items as follows: beans, half the container of cheese, both jars of olives, sour cream, rest of cheese, and salsa. Then, warm up the casserole for about 15 minutes (or until the cheese is melted) in a 350 degree oven. Serve with chips.
Homemade Tortilla Chips
Ever gotten fed up with your tasteless tortilla chips? Try these homemade versions on for size! You won’t have to travel to Mexico – you can get them in your o
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wn kitchen. And the folks who get to enjoy them will be happy to call you a talented senora, senora, or senorita.
Ingredients – one package of 12” flour burritos; olive oil; Mexico spices (often, major spice makers will offer a blend of Mexico-inspired flavors); low fat sour cream; low fat (or homemade) guacamole; and salsa (your choice).
Directions: Using a pizza cutter, slice the burritos into quarters (thus, there will be four small “triangles” for each 12” burrito). Lay them out on a baking sheet (make sure they don’t overlap). Brush each triangle with olive oil, then lightly sprinkle with Mexico-inspired spices. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12-15 minutes until just browned. Serve warm with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.
By: Robert Michael –
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
Robert Michael is a writer for Mg Mexico which is an excellent place to find mexico links, resources and articles. For more information go to: www.mgmexico.com
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