Hearty Venison Stew with Mashed Potatoes and Kale

Ingredients

• 1 pack Silver Fern Farms Venison Diced
• 80g plain flour
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions, thinly sliced
• 3 celery sticks, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 400g button mushrooms, quartered
• 4 medium carrots, sliced
• 330ml can IPA ale
• 500ml beef stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1kg Agria potatoes, washed, peeled and cut into equal-sized chunks
• 3 Tbsp salted butter
• ½ cup full-fat milk
• 300g curly kale, leaves only
• ¼ cup fresh parsley

Method

Remove Silver Fern Farms Venison Diced from the fridge and packaging and allow to bloom at room temperature for 10 mins. Season with flour, salt and pepper.

Bring 1 Tbsp oil to a med-high heat in a large casserole, add venison in batches, browning all sides of the meat. Transfer to a plate and set aside until all the meat is ready.

Preheat oven to 140°C.

Bring 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat in the same casserole dish, add onions, celery and garlic. Cook for 5 mins, then add mushrooms. Continue cooking until mushrooms have reduced in size, add carrots and return the meat to the casserole.

Pour IPA ale and beef stock over the casserole ingredients. Add bay leaves and season.

Cover, transfer the casserole to the oven and cook for 2½ - 3 hours until the meat is tender. You can leave the lid slightly ajar for the last 30 mins of cooking for the liquid to thicken.

Meanwhile, to prepare the mashed potatoes, put potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Add 1 Tbsp of salt and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15 mins or until potatoes are soft. Drain and return to the pan. Mash the potatoes to the desired consistency, add butter and milk. Mix thoroughly with a fork until smooth, and season to taste.

To blanch the kale leaves, bring a small pot of water to the boil, add 1 Tbsp salt and immerse kale leaves in the boiling water for 1 min. Drain the water and tip the leaves onto a bowl of ice-cold water to stop the cooking process and to preserve their vibrant colour. Bring 1 Tbsp oil to a high heat in a wok. Add in the blanched kale and cook for 2-3 mins.

To serve, place mashed potato into bowls, top with venison stew, kale and a sprinkle of parsley.