Venison Wellington with New Potatoes and Buttered Baby Carrots

A green plate with venison wrapped in pastry, boiled potatoes and baby carrots.

Ingredients

  • 500g venison loin.
  • 1 sheet of butter puff pastry.
  • 1 pack of chestnut mushrooms, chopped.
  • Butter, for cooking.
  • 1 banana shallot, chopped.
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped.
  • 3 sprigs of thyme, picked.
  • 1/4 savoy cabbage.
  • 12 baby carrots.
  • 500g new potatoes.
  • 3 eggs.
  • 100g plain flour.
  • 50ml milk.
  • Quality oil.
  • Salt and pepper, to season.

Method

  1. Firstly, season the loin of venison.
  2. Now, heat some oil in a frying pan and sear the meat all over until you have achieved good colour on every surface of the meat. 
  3. Next, start on your mushroom mix, which is known as a duxelle. Melt the butter and soften the shallot and garlic. Add the chopped mushrooms, herbs and seasoning, and cook until you have a paste like mixture. The time this takes depends on the moisture of the mushrooms. Leave to cool.
  4. Next blanch and refresh your cabbage leaves.
  5. Now make 2 French crêpes. Take 2 eggs, a splash of milk and a drop of oil; then whisk in enough flour until you get a thin batter consistency.
  6. Take a hot frying pan with a little oil. Now pour the batter mix into the pan and swirl until the mix creates a thin layer.
  7. Cook the crêpe in the pan and turn over. You’ll need to do this twice.
  8. Overlap 2 or 3 sheets of cling film on a clean surface and lay the two crêpes, slightly overlapping, on each one.
  9. Take some of your blanched cabbage leaves and dry them off with kitchen paper. Lay the cabbage onto the crêpes.
  10. Spread the cooled mushroom mix all over the cabbage leaves, creating a thin, even layer.
  11. Place the venison in the centre of the mushroom mix. Using the edge of the cling film, carefully wrap the crêpe, cabbage and mushroom mix around the fillet. Roll into a sausage shape.
  12. Twist the ends of the cling film one side clockwise then the other anticlockwise to form a tight log. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  13. Meanwhile cook your potatoes and baby carrots.
  14. On a lightly floured surface, place the pre-rolled puff pastry.
  15. Unwrap your venison log from the fridge and lie it in the middle of the pastry. Fold over the bottom half of the pastry. Lightly brush the rest of the sheet with beaten egg. Roll the whole thing around the meat to encase. Neatly trim the edges to create a parcel
  16. Transfer to a baking sheet and brush all over with beaten egg yolk.
  17. Leave to chill for at least 30 minutes and, at the same time, preheat your oven to 200°C.
  18. Use the back of a knife to mark the pastry, being careful not to cut all the way through.
  19. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, then remove from the oven and rest for 20 minutes. Serve with your potatoes and vegetables.