Black Grouse Venison

Serves 4

4 x 200 g strips of loin of venison

100g mixed fresh herbs, chopped (e.g. parsley, tarragon, chives)

Freshly ground black pepper

Truffle oil, to drizzle (optional)

For the barley risotto

1 tbsp olive oil

½ onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 leek, finely chopped

200 g barley, rinsed

Grated zest of 1 orange

4 fresh rosemary sprigs, chopped

600 ml good-quality lamb stock

150 ml red wine

2 eating apples, peeled, cored and diced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For The Black Grouse jus

40 g butter, cubed

1 carrot, diced

1 onion, diced

½ leek, diced

3 celery sticks, diced

50 ml (2 drams)The Black Grouse

400 ml good-quality beef stock

1 tsp tomato puree

2 fresh thyme sprigs

1 bay leaf

2 cloves

Season the venison with salt and pepper and set aside. Preheat the oven to 220˚C (gas mark 7).

To make the risotto, heat the oil in a heavy-based pan.Add the onion, garlic and leek and cook gently until softened. Add the pearl barley and cook until it starts to turn pale brown. Stir in the orange zest and rosemary, then pour in the stock and wine and bring to a boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for 40–50 minutes, or until the barley has soaked up liquid and has bite to it. If the liquid is absorbed before the barley is cooked, just add a little water occasionally to finish cooking. Stir in the apple and cover with a lid.

Meanwhile, make the jus: heat half the butter in a pan and sauté the diced carrot, onion, leek and celery until softened. Deglaze the pan with the whisky then add the beef stock, tomato puree, thyme, bay leaf and cloves. Bring to a boil, simmer until reduced by about a third, achieving a sauce-like consistency, then strain. Whisk in the remaining butter to emulsify the sauce, and keep warm.

Heat a little olive oil in an ovenproof pan. Seal the venison on all sides and place the pan in the oven for about 5 minutes to finish cooking (until the venison is medium rare). Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to rest for 3 minutes, then roll each strip-loin steak in herbs and cracked black pepper.

To serve, place a large cutter in the centre of a plate and fill with risotto, then carefully remove the cutter. Slice each venison loin into 3 equal slices and tower on top of the risotto. Garnish with The Black Grouse jus. Drizzle with a few drops of truffle oil to enhance the flavour if desired.