A Winter Warmer from Andrew Pern
Tucked away in the beautiful Yorkshire village of Harome, near Helmsley, is the thatched cottage of the Star Inn, home to one of Yorkshire's top chefs, Andrew Pern. The Star Inn has won many plaudits over the years since Andrew moved there in 1996, not least by Jasper Gerard, who wrote in The Telegraph in 2008 that "The Star is for jaded explorers on the verge of giving up the quest for the perfect rural pub."
Roux-trained, Andrew has won numerous awards including many years of a Michelin star and, last year being voted 19th in the National Restaurant Awards. He enjoys a great write up in the Egon Ronay Guide which states that "His and his team's cooking is quite exceptional..." and was a successful participant in last year's flagship BBC programme, Great British Menu. Andrew has also written a beautiful recipe book, "Loose Birds and Game" which features this exciting recipe, made with our Raspberry Vinegar...
I was sitting at home one night ‘in charge’ of the kids, there was a knock on the door. Standing there was Steve Smith, my Head Chef and a pie. We’d been talking about putting a Pie of the Day on the blackboard to keep The Star more ‘pubby’ and Steve conjured up this creation – combining deer and liquorice! In Yorkshire?! Somewhat dubiously, I tasted it, breaking open the shortcrust topping, to the steaming hot inside… and, I must say it is one of the nicest things I’ve ever eaten. I can still taste it now, a beautiful, deep flavour with a slight edge of fruit coming from the vinegar, and the vibrant mash to mop up those lovely, liquorice juices. Who’d have ever thought you’d hear me saying that? A must-try-it!
Ingredients:
| For the Pie: | For the shortcrust pastry: |
| 1kg venison, diced | 50g plain flour |
| A little oil for frying | 30g butter |
| 16 baby onions | Pinch of salt |
| ½ bottle of red wine | Cold water |
| 1 ltr game stock | |
| 2 cloves garlic, crushed | For the Colcannon: |
| 8 Pontefract Cakes | 4 Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and diced |
| 2 tbsp cornflour | 80g butter |
| 1 sprig of tarragon | 20ml whipping cream |
| Seasoning | Seasoning |
| 100g girolle mushrooms | |
| 50ml Womersley Raspberry Vinegar | 80g curly kale |
Deer Pie with Liquorice Gravy, taken from Andrew Pern's Book "Loose Birds & Game"
Method
Colour off the diced venison meat in a little oil with the baby onions. Fry off until nicely browned, then add the red wine, raspberry vinegar, stock, garlic and Pontefract Cakes. Simmer for approximately 1½ hours or until tender. Thicken with cornflour, add mushrooms, tarragon and seasoning, then allow to cool. Place in a suitable pot or pots, and set aside.
For the pastry, rub the plain flour and butter together with a pinch of salt, until ‘breadcrumb-like’, add the water and combine together into a smooth paste. Do NOT over-knead, as it will make the pastry tough. Chill for 30 minutes.
For the Colcannon, first boil the potatoes until soft. Drain through a sieve and mash with a little butter, cream, white pepper and salt. Add the sliced curly kale, which will wilt with the heat of the potatoes and keep warm.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Roll out the pastry with a rolling pin and using a little flour for dusting to a thickness of 3mm. Place over the pots of venison meat mixture and trim so that the rim is covered. ‘Crimp’ the edges to stick the pastry down and make a little hole in the middle (or use a pot Blackbird!) to let out the steam. Brush the pastry with the remaining egg yolk and bake for approximately 30 minutes until golden brown. Warm the Colcannon and place on the plate with the pie alongside. Eat to your heart’s content!
