Always a crowd-pleaser, this venison Wellington makes an impressive dish to serve to guests. The lean tenderloin is also very good for you – a fact long recognized at Sharpham Park. The first red deer were introduced to the land in the 12th century, when the abbots of Glastonbury would invite their guests to hunt and then enjoy a major feast.
SERVES 4–6
PREPARATION TIME: 1 hour, plus 20 minutes resting COOKING TIME: 1 hour
25g/1oz butter, plus extra for greasing
1 whole fillet or tenderloin of venison, about 1kg/2lb 4oz in weight
1 recipe quantity Rough Puff Pastry (see page 15) or 425g/15oz packet of ready-rolled puff pastry sheets
a little white spelt flour, for dusting
1 egg, beaten
seasonal vegetables, to serve
FOR THE PANCAKES:
150g/5½oz/scant 1¼ cups white spelt flour
a pinch of sea salt
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 eggs
350ml/12fl oz/scant 1½ cups full-fat milk
FOR THE FILLING:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
500g/1lb 2oz wild mushrooms
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To make the pancakes, put the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the eggs and half the milk and beat, using an electric mixer, until really smooth. Add the remaining milk and whisk to a smooth batter.
To make the filling, heat the oil in a frying pan, add the shallots and fry gently for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the mushrooms and cook until all the excess liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Melt a knob of butter in a 25cm/10in frying pan until sizzling. Add about one-third of the batter to cover the pan about 3mm/⅛in deep and cook until bubbling. Flip the pancake and cook the other side for 30 seconds, then remove it from the pan and leave to cool. Make 2 more pancakes in the same way.
Weigh the meat and calculate the cooking time. Heat a large frying pan over a high heat, then sear the whole fillet very quickly to keep all the meat juices inside. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3 and grease a large baking sheet.
Put your pancakes overlapping on a work surface so that they are long enough to cover the entire fillet. Spread with the mushroom mixture. Put the fillet on top and completely wrap the fillet in the pancakes.
Roll the pastry out thinly on a lightly floured work surface, then wrap the fillet and pancakes completely in a sheet of puff pastry, brushing the edges with a little egg to seal the parcel. Brush a thin layer of egg over the pastry, then wrap it in the second sheet of pastry, sealing the ends with egg wash. Ensure that there are no air bubbles, as the pastry must be completely smooth. Brush with the remaining egg wash.
Put the parcel on the prepared baking sheet and roast at 15 minutes per 450g/1lb. Leave to rest for 20 minutes in a warm place. Slice into 3cm/1¼in slices and serve immediately with seasonal vegetables.