Two quick ways with venison
Lift your summer cooking game with this flavoursome, lean cut, says Nicola Galloway.
Barbecue season is here and, alongwith loads of vegetables on the grill, we have been enjoying some venison steaks. It is a very lean meat and stronger in flavour, so I do find a small amount goes a long way.
Add flash-cooked venison to a flavourful noodle salad or use in a quick weeknight stir-frywith a rainbow of vegetables.
Spicy venison noodle salad
Venison steaks are best cooked hot and fast untilmedium rare. Beef steak, such as rump or tender ribeye, can also be used.
The noodle salad is light and flavoursome, balanced with salty, sweet, sour, spicy and bitter from salad greens.
I like to use bean thread vermicelli noodles made from mung beans, alternatively use rice noodles (check packet for cooking times).
Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes Serves 4
Salad
400g venison steak (or use beef steak –
see note above)
1 tsp fish sauce
Drizzle of olive oil 200g bean thread vermicelli noodles
or rice noodles
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
cucumber, halved and thinly sliced 2 large handfuls (150g) salad leaves Handful each coriander, mint and
basil – roughly torn
1 red chilli, chopped
Dressing
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
Juice of one lime, about 3 tbsp 4 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
Place the venison steak into a bowl and add the fish sauce and oil. Cover and place in the fridge for 2 hours, or overnight, to marinate.
Prepare the salad. In a saucepan, bring 2 litres ofwater to a rapid boil. Add the noodles and cook for 5minutes. Drain and refresh under cold water. Tip into a large serving bowl.
Prepare the vegetables, salad, herbs and chilli and add to the noodles.
Combine the dressing ingredients in a jug, stirring to combine.
Heat a barbecue grill on a high heat. Cook the venison steak for 3-4 minutes on each side, until medium rare. Rest on a plate for 5minutes, then use a sharp knife to cut into thin slices. Add to the noodle salad and toss to combine.
Drizzle over the dressing and serve.
Venison & ginger stir-fry
A simple stir-fry uses quick-cook venison steak – aswith the previous recipe, beef steak can also be used. This recipe is a request from a reader.
Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes Serves 4
1 tsp peanut or rice bran oil
400g venison steak, thinly sliced 4cm fresh ginger root, cut into
matchsticks
3-4 cups fresh seasonal vegetables, for example: carrot, thinly sliced on a diagonal broccoli or cauliflower florets red pepper, thinly sliced zucchini, thinly sliced on a diagonal red or green cabbage, shredded snow peas
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp toasted sesame oil Sesame seeds to garnish (optional) 2 cups cooked brown rice to serve
Heat awok or large frying pan over a high heat until a drop of water dances over the surface.
Add a thin slick of oil (about tsp), followed by the venison and ginger.
‘‘Stir fry’’ by moving the venison around quickly with chopsticks or a wooden spoon for 2-3 minutes, until evenly browned. Transfer to a plate.
Add another slick of oil to cook the vegetables. Begin by adding the harder vegetables, such as carrots and broccoli.
Add 1 tbsp soy sauce and a splash of water (about 1 tbsp) and stir-fry as above for 2-3 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables and continue to cook over a high heat for 3-5 minutes, until the vegetables are tender but still crunchy.
In the last minute, add the venison and ginger back to the wok to reheat. Tip the stir-fry on to a serving plate and drizzle over the sesame oil and extra 1 tbsp soy sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Serve with brown rice and extra soy sauce at the table. homegrown-kitchen.co.nz
Veges to sow and plant this month
It is a great time to start many crops – but most seed takes between one and three weeks to germinate so is likely to be at the most vulnerable stage of its life cycle just when we are either heading away on holiday or are distracted by family, food and Christmas fun.
If you are still determined to sow and plant this month, then in the north you can sow more basil, beetroot, carrots, courgettes, cucumbers, lettuces and radishes (give them semi-shade, as they are likely to bolt if they get heat stressed), silverbeet, spinach and sweetcorn.
In the south sow basil, beetroot, carrots, lettuces, parsnips, radishes, silverbeet, spinach and sweetcorn.
Everywhere sow a second round of beans and courgettes, so you have plants in reserve when your first lot succumb to exhaustion as these fast-growing and productive crops tend to. You can also plant seedlings of brassicas (but protect from white butterflies), cherry tomatoes, grafted eggplants, chillies and lettuces.
Plant seedlings late in the day and water in gently. That way they have the whole night to settle in to their new home.
December rose notes
Spray fortnightly with half trim milk (or as near as you can get to skim milk) and half water, plus seaweed or fish fertiliser used according to the directions on the container.
A thin dressing of lawn cuttings makes a good summer mulch – but only if you are sure the lawn has not been sprayed.
Take particular care when spraying weeds on paths or lawns – a whiff of spray on roses or lavender can kill them.
Use a hand fork to keep the soil around roses friable.
Most once-flowering roses will have stopped flowering but you can encourage repeat bloomers by regular picking.
Make potpourri
Read the fine print on a can of air freshener and you cannot help but wonder whether all those chemicals actually eliminate odours or merely knock out your sense of smell.
Make your own potpourri from ingredients you have heard of: flowers and leaves, and herbs and spices, from your own garden; plus natural fixatives and essential oils.
Rose petals are the best known base for potpourri; they are attractive and easy to dry and many have strong scents. You can also dry small rosebuds whole.
Other favourites include lavender, larkspur, rosemary, borage and marigolds. Dried citrus peel, seeds, bark and berries add texture while lemon verbena, bay leaves, scented geranium leaves, marjoram, cinnamon and cloves contribute scent and colour.
This easy blend makes a charming homemade gift.
Combine 6 cups of rose petals, 2 cups of tiny rosebuds, 2 cups of marigolds or blue cornflower petals,
cup bay leaves, 1 cup of rose leaves, 2 tablespoons of powdered orris root, 10 drops of rose oil and 5 drops of ylang ylang oil. Mix by hand and leave to mature in a paper bag.
Compiled by Barbara Smith