Two new dishes for New Year. The first is complex, with several elements to it, for when time is on your side. The second is a useful maincourse you can have on the table in minutes. Whether you are up for the tart made with thyme pastry, filled with venison or beef and topped with mashed root vegetables, or the brilliantly coloured red cabbage and duck confit, you will find them the very essence of the season.
Little venison pies with root vegetable mash
You will need four deep tart tins or chef's rings, about 10cm in diameter, 2-3cm deep. Makes 4 deep tarts.
For the filling:
olive or groundnut oil a little
venison 200g, cubed
onions 2 small
cranberries 50g
bay leaves 2
chestnuts 100g
thyme leaves 1 heaped tbsp
plain flour 1 heaped tbsp
beef stock 500ml
vino cotto 2 tbsp
For the pastry:
plain flour 200g
butter 200g
egg yolk 1
milk 2-3 tbsp
thyme leaves 1 tbsp, chopped
For the mash:
beetroots 450g, raw and whole
carrots 450g
butter 60g
Warm a thin layer of oil in a deep pan or casserole over a moderate heat and add the venison in a single layer and not crowding the pan. Turn the meat occasionally, so that it browns evenly. Keep the heat at such a level that the meat leaves a dark, sticky residue on the pan but doesn't burn. Peel and roughly chop the onions.
Remove the meat and transfer to a mixing bowl. Pour a shallow layer of stock into the pan, bring it to the boil, then scrape away at the sticky sediment on the pan and stir until it dissolves into the stock. Tip the enriched stock in with the meat and return the pan to the heat, then add abit more oil and the chopped onions.
Let the onions cook, giving them the occasional stir, until they are pale gold and translucent, then add the bay leaves and salt and pepper. Add the chestnuts, then the thyme leaves and the venison. Sprinkle the flour over the meat and let it cook for a minute or two, then pour in the stock and bring it to the boil. Lower the heat so the mixture bubbles gently and partially cover with alid. Simmer at this pace for an hour, stirring regularly to stop the sauce sticking. Check the seasoning.
Finish the venison filling with the cranberries, letting them cook for about 15 minutes, then stir in the vino cotto if you want to want to enrich and slightly sweeten the finished sauce, then set aside.
To make the pastry cases, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs, then add the egg yolk, thyme leaves and enough of the milk to bring it to a soft, rollable consistency. Roll out on a large floured board to the thickness of a pound coin then, using a cookie cutter or saucer as atemplate, cut out four discs of pastry to fit your tart cases. Chill them in the fridge (to prevent them shrinking in the oven) for at least 20 minutes.
Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6 and place a baking sheet on the middle shelf. Fill the tart cases with greaseproof paper filled with baking beans or rice. Slide them on to the hot baking sheet and bake for 15minutes or until the pastry is pale and dry round the edges. Remove the paper and beans and return the empty pastry cases to the oven for afew minutes to dry out completely. Remove from the oven.
To make the mash, wipe and trim the beetroots without tearing the skin. Boil them, unpeeled, in deep, lightly salted water for 40 minutes or so, till they are tender enough for you to slip the skin off with your thumb. Peel and boil the carrots.
Mash the beetroot and carrots separately, stirring half the butter into each as you go. Season carefully and keep warm by covering with foil.
Remove the pastry cases from their tins (if they look very fragile then leave them in) and fill each with some of the venison filling. Pile the mashed roots on top, a little of each on each one. Keep the remaining mash hot. Slide the tarts on to the hot baking sheets, bake for 10-15 minutes, then serve with the extra mash on the side.
Red cabbage with prunes and port
You will need two confit duck legs. They can be bought in tinsorjars from food halls and somesupermarkets.
Serves 4 as a light main dish
prunes 150g, stoned
port 7 tbsp
red cabbage 1, small
confit duck legs 2
juniper berries 10
Put the stoned prunes in a small mixing bowl, pour the port over them and leave to soak for an hour.
Put the two duck legs and 4 tbsp of their fat into a casserole and warmover a moderate heat until the fat has melted and the skin on the duck is golden brown and crisp. Shred the cabbage finely.
Remove the duck from the pan, and add the cabbage and lightly crushed juniper berries, tossing in the hot fat, and cover with a lid. Cook for 10minutes on a low heat. Meanwhile, remove the meat from the duck legs with a couple of forks, then return it to the pan. Pour in the port and prunes, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the port and prunes are hot. Remove the cabbage and duck toa serving plate, then turn up the heat and reduce the liquid a little before pouring it over the cabbage.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk. Follow Nigel on Twitter @NigelSlater
