© David Loftus

venison & juniper stew

method

The Navajo love their lamb and mutton, but back in the day
– at the right times of the year – they’d also get out there
and hunt things like elk, which they’d stew with wild juniper
berries. What’s amazing for me is that thousands of miles away
in Britain we were hunting deer for venison and stewing that
with juniper too. I guess some combos are just brilliant, no
matter where you live. Don’t worry if you can’t get venison,
because stewing beef will also be delicious. Really nice served
with some rice, beans, a baked potato, or flatbreads (see page
139), or, if you’re a bit more traditional, some nice steamed
greens. A humble but delicious stew.

Dust a cutting board with 2 tablespoons of flour and a good pinch of
salt and pepper, and toss your chunks of meat through this mixture
until well coated. Heat a large saucepan or Dutch oven on a high
heat, add a few lugs of olive oil, and fry your meat for 3 minutes to
brown it. Add your chopped onions, carrots, celery, crushed juniper
berries, rosemary, and the pat of butter. Add a few tablespoons of
water, give everything a good stir, then pop the lid on the pan and
let everything steam for 4 to 5 minutes so the flavors really mingle
together.

Take the lid off so your meat and veggies start to fry, and stir every
so often for 5 to 10 minutes. Chop your parsley stalks finely, and
once the onions start to caramelize, add them to the pan with
your remaining 2 tablespoons of fl our and your crumbled bouillon
cubes. Stir, and pour in enough water to cover the mixture by a
couple of inches. Put the parsley leaves aside for later.

Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium low so that the
stew is just simmering. Add your potatoes and slow cook for at
least 2 hours with the lid slightly askew, or until the meat falls apart
easily. Keep an eye on it as it cooks, and add splashes of water if
you think it looks too dry.

Put your minced garlic in the middle of a cutting board. Add most of
your parsley leaves with a teaspoon of sea salt and ½ a teaspoon of
black pepper. Chop everything together so you get a kinda chunky
paste. Add this to the stew and stir through. Chop the last of your
parsley leaves and sprinkle over the stew before serving.

serves: 6-8

ingredients

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1¾ lbs stewing venison or beef,
cut into ¾-inch chunks
• olive oil
• 2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 celery stalks, trimmed
and roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon juniper berries,
crushed in a pestle and mortar
• 2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves
picked and chopped
• a pat of butter
• 6 sprigs of fresh Italian parsley
• 2 beef bouillon cubes, preferably organic
• 1½ lbs baby potatoes, scrubbed
clean, larger ones halved
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced