In my kitchen

You will need

Serves: Six

Ingredients: 1.5 kg haunch of venison or shoulder, cut into 4 cm cubes; flour to dust; 200g smoked bacon in a piece, cut into batons; 300g onion, sliced; 200g carrot, cut roughly; 20g dried wild mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes; 300g tomatoes, quartered; 500ml red wine; 500ml chicken stock; 1 bay leaf; 1 sprig rosemary; 2 sprigs of thyme; peel of 1 orange; 4 cloves garlic, chopped; 30 black olives, pitted; 200g fresh small button mushrooms; 1 dessertspoon sugar.

For the Celeriac: 1 celeriac, peeled, sliced very, very finely; oil for deep frying; flour for dredging.

For the garnish: 6 sprigs rosemary; 18 roasted cherry tomatoes; Drizzle of olive oil; Salt and pepper; 4 pieces smoked bacon, cut into lardons.

Method

Toss the venison in flour and brown in a frying pan. This will have to be done in a couple of batches. Once cooked, put into the casserole. Brown the bacon and add to the venison. In the same pan add the sliced onion in a drizzle of oil, lightly brown and add to the casserole with the carrot, the soaked wild mushrooms, tomatoes, herbs, orange peel, garlic. Deglaze the frying pan with the 500ml red wine, add to the casserole with the chicken stock. Mix, season, and cover the pan. Simmer for 2 to 2 ½ hours (or until the venison is tender). After 1½ hours, add the black olives and button mushrooms. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve in to another saucepan. Reserve the mushrooms, olives and venison and put onto a plate. Heat the sauce up until it gets a little thicker, taste for seasoning and add a dessertspoon of sugar and reduce again. Put the venison, olives and mushrooms back in the pan. Crisp up the bacon lardons in a frying pan.

Dredge the sliced celeriac in flour, dusting it off. Deep fry until pale golden brown then remove, drain and serve. Serve with roasted cherry tomatoes on the vine and a sprig of rosemary and the bacon with the celeriac and purée potato.

Purée potato

Ingredients: 1kg floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper; 100g unsalted butter, diced; 250ml full-fat milk; Sea salt and white pepper.

Peel the potatoes, cut into roughly equal chunks. Put them into a large saucepan, cover with cold water, season with salt and bring to the boil. Simmer, uncovered, for 15–20 minutes, until the potatoes are very tender but not falling apart. Drain and leave in colander for a couple of minutes to steam off moisture. Put through a potato ricer into the pan and then mix in the butter. Heat milk in a small pan until very hot, but not boiling. Gradually add to the potato, beating with a wooden spoon. Season and serve.

* www.rosemaryshrager.com/at-swinton-park

Christine Austin recommends: Enjoy the ripe, herb-dusted raspberry fruit in Gran Feudo 2005, from Navarra (Waitrose, down to £8.99 until 14 October) or try the deeper, peppery-spiced red-berry fruit of Grand Terroir Montpeyroux 2008 from Gerard Bertrand, (Majestic down to £7.99 on multibuy).