Venison Wellington

PREP TIME 1 HOUR COOK TIME 75 MINS SERVES 6

1kg New Zealand farm-raised venison tenderloin

1 tbsp oil

Salt and pepper, to season

¼ cup Dijon mustard

10 slices prosciutto

4 sheets puff pastry, thawed

1 egg, beaten

Duxelles

2 shallots, peeled, halved

3 garlic cloves, peeled, roughly chopped

650g button mushrooms, roughly chopped

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp Superb Herb thyme leaves, finely chopped

1 Preheat oven to 200°C. Let the venison come to room temperature, then dry with a paper towel. Tie into a roll with butcher’s twine, brush with oil, then season with salt and pepper. Heat a large heavybased frying pan on high heat. Once hot, sear venison for 3 minutes on each side, including the tenderloin ends. Transfer to a chopping board. Let cool.

2 To make the duxelles, add shallots, garlic and mushrooms to a blender, pulsing until finely chopped. Add butter to a large heavyset pan over medium heat.

Add the mushroom mixture and cook, stirring often, for 20 minutes or until the liquids have evaporated and it forms a chunky paste. Stir in thyme leaves, season and let cool completely.

3 Remove butcher’s twine from the venison and brush liberally with mustard.

4 On a large piece of cling film (or two layered pieces), lay the prosciutto, overlapping to form a square. Spread thinly with the duxelles mixture, then place the venison tenderloin on top. Roll up tightly and place in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.

5 Unroll the 4 pastry sheets on a sheet of baking paper in a giant square. Connect the sheets of pastry with a rolling pin (or doubled overlapping baking paper). Remove cling film from prosciutto roll and place in the middle of the pastry. Fold the pastry over the venison to cover completely. Trim the pastry if needed. Tightly roll the prepared venison Wellington in cling film and place in the fridge for 20 minutes.

6 Remove the cling film and place venison Wellington on a lined baking tray. Brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with salt and bake for 40 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the internal temperature of the venison reaches 57°C (for medium-rare).

7 Rest for 20 minutes, then place venison Wellington on a serving platter or chopping board, slice and serve warm with your favourite sides.