VENISON, PLUM & BEETROOT SALAD WITH PLUM DRESSING

Venison with plums is a tried and true pairing that gets even better when teamed with earthy beetroot, toasted hazelnuts and some aromatic spices.

220g venison steaks

1 tbsp olive oil

300g baby beetroot, cooked, peeled and halved

6 new baby potatoes, boiled and halved (we used Purple Heart)

6 plums, quartered

3 handfuls mixed salad greens, including young beetroot leaves

50g hazelnuts, toasted and skins rubbed off, roughly chopped

Plum dressing

75ml red wine

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 small thumb of ginger, finely grated ½ orange, zest and juice

½ tsp Chinese five spice powder

3 large plums, stoned and roughly chopped

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp fish sauce Make the dressing first. Place wine, vinegar, garlic, ginger, orange juice and zest and five spice in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes until reduced by about a third. Add plums, sugar, oil and fish sauce. Simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves, then cook until plums are soft. Take off heat and allow to cool before blending until smooth.

Coat venison in olive oil and season with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook the steaks on a barbecue or in a grill pan for about 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan, cover and allow to cool to room temperature, then slice thinly.

To assemble the salad, scatter the leaves on a platter and arrange the cooked beetroot, potatoes and plum slices decoratively over the greens. Top with venison slices and drizzle over the plum dressing, then scatter toasted hazelnuts on top. Serve immediately. Serves 6