Thomasina Miers’ game recipes – steamed venison buns and pigeon with lentils

Game has a fusty image, which is odd when you consider how many of us are concerned about healthy eating. Unlike farmed meat, game roams freely and, because of its foraged diet, is naturally low in fat, rich in protein and full of flavour; it can also be great value. Compare that with packaged foods crammed with additives to prolong shelf life, improve appearance and, in the case of meat, pumped full of unknown quantities of antibiotics. Game is generally free of all that; it’s common sense to give it a go.

Venison steamed buns

A street food classic to have at home. Beware: they are very moreish. Allow two hours for proving. Makes 12.

600g venison steak, cut into thick strips
500g plain flour
60g sugar
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
7g fast action yeast
60ml whole milk
150ml water
20ml sesame oil
25ml brown rice vinegar
1 tsp each black and white sesame seeds, toasted

For the marinade
2 tbsp brown rice vinegar
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the carrot pickle
2 carrots, shaved with a vegetable peeler
2 tbsp brown rice vinegar
A squeeze of lime juice
¼ tsp caster sugar

For the mayonnaise
150g mayonnaise
40g gochujang (Korean chili paste)

In a bowl, whisk the marinade ingredients, season, then add the meat and toss. In a second bowl, mix the pickle ingredients. Put both bowls in the fridge and leave to marinate. In a small bowl, mix the mayo and gochujang and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Put the yeast in a small bowl. Heat the milk and water until tepid, then pour over the yeast, stir and leave to froth slightly, then stir into the flour with the oil and vinegar.

Turn out the dough on to a work surface (don’t worry if it looks scraggy) and knead for seven to 10 minutes, until smooth and bouncy. Shape into a ball and put in a lightly oiled bowl. Loosely cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place to prove for an hour, or until doubled in size.

Turn out the dough on to the work surface and knead for five minutes. Roll it into a fat sausage and cut into 12 evenly sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and flatten into a neat circle with the palm of your hand. Fold the circles into half-moons, and put a small, lightly oiled piece of baking paper between each fold. Lay the buns on an oven tray lined with more oiled baking paper, cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for an hour, until swollen.

Meanwhile, heat a little oil in a very hot frying pan and sear the venison in batches for two to three minutes, until browned all over but pink in the middle. Toss the meat in the toasted sesame seeds, cover in foil and leave to rest while you steam the buns.

Tear away the exposed baking paper around the proved buns (ie, so the bases remain lined) and lower them carefully into a metal or bamboo steamer (do so in batches, if need be). Cover and steam for 10 minutes, until the buns are puffed and glossy.

Remove the paper from the bases and folds of the cooked buns, stuff with the venison, carrot pickle and mayonnaise, and tuck in.

Pigeon, lentils, mushrooms and apple

Allow two pigeon breasts per person (or one partridge or pheasant breast, if you’d rather). Serves four to six.

45g dried porcini, soaked, or fresh, sliced
60g butter
1 small onion, peeled and finely diced
1 small carrot, peeled and finely diced
2 tbsp thyme leaves, plus extra to serve
1 large garlic clove, peeled and sliced
300g puy lentils
1 litre chicken stock
1 bay leaf
8-12 pigeon breasts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp red-wine vinegar, plus ¼ tsp extra for the apples

2 apples, very finely sliced
30g hazelnuts, toasted and finely sliced
1 tbsp olive oil

Soak the dried porcini, if using, in boiling water for 10 minutes, then drain. Heat two-thirds of the butter in a deep saucepan and saute the onion, carrot and half the thyme for 10 minutes, until just softened. Add the garlic, fry for a few minutes, then stir in the lentils, until coated.

Pour in the stock, add the bay leaf and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and leave to cook for 25-30 minutes, until almost all the liquid is absorbed and the lentils are tender.

Meanwhile, heat a wide frying pan until very hot, add half the remaining butter and fry the mushrooms until golden and stir into the lentils.

Season the breasts. Add the rest of the butter to the same pan and, once sizzling, sear the breasts for two to three minutes on each side, until golden on the outside and pink in the middle, basting as they fry. Transfer to a plate, cover with foil and leave to rest for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, add a tablespoon of vinegar to the pan and stir, scraping up any caramelised bits, then set aside. Combine the apples, nuts, remaining thyme and vinegar, and the oil in a bowl, and season to taste.

Slice the breasts (add any juices to the reduced sauce). Spoon the lentils on to plates, top with pigeon, scatter with a little thyme, spoon on the pan juices and serve with the salad.

And for the rest of the week…

The bun dough freezes well, so make double and keep some for another occasion (you can also use it for bite-sized buns for fun party food). The venison marinade works well on beef, too – try marinating a whole joint and pair with noodles and an Asian salad. The apple salad is also delicious with pork chops or roast pork – just add potatoes, preferably dauphinoise.

Page Turners: Yotam Ottolenghi's Favourite Recipes From His First Book

My first cookbook is being reissued next week, with a shiny new red cover, a few design updates and new recipe introductions. Looking back on the original, published eight years ago, it feels like only yesterday that Sami Tamimi and I spent every Friday night serving up a feast for friends to test the dishes for the book.

At the same time, it also feels like a lifetime ago. The team has grown and my approach to recipe writing has become more precise. Back then, the cliche that ignorance is bliss held very true: doing something for the first time, with nothing to compare it against, you just get on with it. So long as a recipe made sense and our readers could make a delicious meal by following it, that was that. Job done: let’s eat! Eight years down the line, I can now find myself wondering for far too long whether I should be writing “flaked” or “flaky” sea salt in an ingredients list. Such level of detail matters more to me than to some readers, true, but it’s the way I’ve evolved.

Looking back on such ignorance (though I prefer to think of it as innocence), I wouldn’t change it for the world. It’s also reassuring to see how much the things that were important to Sami and me in 2008 have stayed the same. Here are four recipes I was excited to return to: favourites of mine, and of our readers, too. We’re still putting our heart and soul into the same thing: making food that we love to eat and that, we hope, makes people happy.

French beans and mangetout with hazelnut and orange

Readers tell us that this is the salad they go back to time and again, and it’s easy to see why: it’s totally hassle-free. Everything can be prepared well in advance and it’s simple to size up for a crowd. It looks lovely, too – every table needs a bit of green on it, after all. Serves six.

400g french beans
400g mangetout
70g unskinned hazelnuts
1 orange
20g chives, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp hazelnut oil 
Flaky sea salt and black pepper

Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. With a small, sharp knife, trim the stalk ends off the beans and mangetout, keeping the two separate. Bring a large saucepan of unsalted water to a boil – you need lots of space for the beans, because that’s crucial for preserving their colour. Blanch the beans for four minutes, then drain into a colander and run under the cold tap until cold. Leave to drain and dry. Repeat with the mangetout, but blanch them for only a minute.

While the beans are cooking, scatter the hazelnuts over a baking tray and roast in the hot oven for 10 minutes. Leave until cool enough to handle, then rub them in a clean tea-towel to remove most of the skins and roughly chop; leave some whole or whole-ish, if you like.

With a vegetable peeler, remove the zest from the orange in strips, taking care to avoid the bitter pith. Cut each piece of zest into very thin strips (or, if you have a citrus zester, do the whole job with that).

To assemble the dish, mix all the ingredients in a bowl, toss gently, then taste and adjust the seasoning with some flaky sea salt and a good grind of black pepper. Serve at room temperature.

Seafood, fennel and lime salad

Fennel, herbs and seafood go together like sun, sea and sandcastles. Serve as a starter or light lunch, with some fresh crusty bread to mop up all the juices, or as part of a mezze spread. You can make it a day ahead, up to the point the seafood is added to the bowl, should you be so inclined. Serves four.

2 small fennel bulbs
½ red onion, peeled and very thinly sliced
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
10g dill leaves, roughly chopped
10g parsley leaves, roughly chopped
1 mild chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
60ml olive oil
Flaky sea salt
8 tiger prawns, peeled and deveined
350g baby squid, cleaned 
1 tbsp sumac
10g coriander, roughly chopped
Pomegranate seeds, to garnish (optional)

Trim the bases and tops off the fennel bulbs, then slice the bulbs widthwise as thinly as you can (use a mandoline, if you have one). In a large bowl, mix the fennel and red onion with the lime juice and zest, garlic, dill, parsley, chilli, two tablespoons of olive oil and half a teaspoon of salt.

Heat a heavy cast-iron pan (preferably a griddle) on a high flame. Meanwhile, mix the prawns and squid with the remaining oil and a pinch of salt. Once the pan is piping hot, grill the seafood in small batches, turning it after a minute, and cooking only until just done (roughly a minute more for the squid and two to three for the prawns). Transfer to a board and cut the squid into thick rings; leave the prawns whole or cut them in half.

Add the seafood to the salad bowl and toss. Serve immediately or put the salad in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Just before serving, stir in the sumac and coriander, then taste and adjust the seasoning. A scattering of pomegranate seeds makes for a beautiful garnish.

Plum, marzipan and cinnamon muffins

Makes 10-12.

480g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon 
1 pinch salt
200g caster sugar
2 eggs
280ml milk
110g unsalted butter, melted
120g marzipan 
Finely grated zest of 2 oranges
Icing sugar, for dusting

For the plum compote

700g ripe red plums, pitted and cut into quarters
60g caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick

First make the compote. Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Put the plums in a shallow baking dish, toss with the sugar and add the cinnamon stick. Bake for 10-20 minutes, until the plums are soft and their skin is coming away from the flesh (the cooking time will vary a lot depending on the ripeness of the fruit). Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarb, cinnamon and salt into a bowl. Put the sugar and eggs in a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Add the milk and butter, and whisk again to combine.

Grate the marzipan on the coarse side of a grater and add to the batter with the orange zest. Stir in 80g of the compote (pulp and juices), and keep the rest for later.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the flour mixture into the wet mix until just combined (there may be a few lumps and bits of flour in the mix, but don’t worry; it’s meant to be like that).

Line two muffin tins with paper cases and spoon in the cake mix all the way to the top. Bake for 25–30 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. When cool enough to handle, remove the muffins from the tins and leave on a wire rack until cold.

Just before serving, dust with a little icing sugar and top with the reserved plum compote.

Roast chicken with sumac, za’atar and lemon

This recipe is so popular, we should maybe have renamed the book Roast Chicken And Other Recipes. It’s super-simple, packed with flavour, and the marinade does all the work. It just needs rice, roast potatoes or pitta alongside, and perhaps a garlicky yoghurt or tahini sauce. Serves four.

1 large chicken, quartered
2 red onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
60ml olive oil, plus extra to finish
1½ tsp ground allspice (pimento)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp sumac
1 lemon, thinly sliced
200ml chicken stock (or water)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp za’atar
20g unsalted butter
50g pine nuts
20g parsley, roughly chopped

In a big bowl, mix the chicken with the onions, garlic, olive oil, spices, lemon, stock, a teaspoon and a half of salt and a good grind of pepper, then leave in the fridge to marinate for a few hours or overnight.

Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Put the chicken skin side up in a big oven tray, pour in the marinade and sprinkle za’atar on top. Roast for 30-40 minutes, until the bird is coloured and just cooked through.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small frying pan, add the pine nuts and a pinch of salt, and cook over a moderate heat, stirring constantly, until golden. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain.

Transfer the hot chicken and onions to a platter, and scatter over the nuts, parsley and a drizzle of oil. If you like, sprinkle with more za’atar and sumac before serving.

Raspberry ice-cream

CUSTARD MIXTURE
4 large egg yolks
200g caster sugar
500ml whole milk
200ml pure cream
1 tsp vanilla paste
2 tbsp crème fraîche

JAM
280g fresh raspberries
4 tbsp caster sugar
 

In a bowl whisk together the egg yolks and caster sugar until creamy and frothy.

Place the milk, cream, vanilla and crème fraîche in a small saucepan on moderate heat and warm until just under the boil.

Add 1/2 a cup of the warm milk mixture to the egg yolks and sugar, whisking vigorously to combine; then add the rest of the milk and whisk again.

Prepare an iced water bath (I like to do this in an empty sink) for when your custard is finished.

Return the custard mixture to a clean saucepan and stir on moderate to low heat until it reaches 85C on a candy thermometer or starts to thicken and coat the back of a spoon. When the custard reaches this point, place the saucepan in your iced water bath and whisk the mix for one minute.

For best results, cool the custard mix in the fridge for at least four hours or overnight.

Churn the ice-cream in your machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. If you don’t have a ice-cream machine, place the mixture in a large container and put in the freezer.

Using a whisk or a fork, stir the ice-cream in the freezer every 30 minutes to break up any large icy particles and until the desired consistency is reached.

While the mixture is churning, place the raspberries and caster sugar in a non-stick, heavy-based saucepan and cook on moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the raspberries reach a thick consistency – almost like jam.

When the ice-cream is churned, place in a container that is freezer-safe. Dollop the cooled jam into the ice-cream mix by the spoonful, burrowing it into the ice-cream.

When the jam is in the container (or containers) run a knife through the mix just once quickly.

Place the mix in the freezer until ready to serve. Serve by the scoop and enjoy.

Nigel Slater’s spiced salmon lettuce wrap

The recipe

Peel 2 cloves of garlic and put them into the bowl of a food processor. Peel away and discard the outer leaves of a stalk of lemon grass, cut the tender stem into short lengths and add to the garlic. Peel a 30g piece of ginger and add to the bowl with 20g of coriander leaves and stalks.

Process the garlic, lemongrass, ginger and coriander leaves to a paste then add 150g of tomatoes and process briefly to a wet paste. Season lightly with 1 tbsp of fish sauce and 3 tbsps of groundnut oil.

Heat an overhead grill, then place a 450g piece of salmon on a foil-lined grill pan. Spread the paste over the surface of the salmon then place under the grill, a good 20cm from the grill, and leave it to cook, watching carefully, for about 15-20 minutes.

When the fish is done, remove from the heat. Break it into big, juicy flakes then divide between four curls of iceberg lettuce leaves. Add a couple of mint leaves and some watercress to each, fold the lettuce leaves over the fish and eat with your fingers.

The trick

Keep an eye on the fish as it grills as the spice paste burns easily. Take care not to overcook the fish – it should be only just opaque inside. The fish should be a middle piece from the fillet if your cut is from the thick end or from the thinner, tail end, then adjust the cooking time accordingly.

The twist

Instead of grilling the salmon, bake at 200C/gas mark 6 for 15 minutes or so, until the surface has lightly browned. Rather than using the lettuce wrap, serve in two large pieces, with green vegetables, or serve cold, as the filling for a wrap or bun with crisp salad leaves.

The chicken and the egg: Oyako don

This is a popular Japanese street food and a great comfort food. “Don” is a short version of donburi in Japanese, which is a rice bowl dish that comes with different toppings. The rest of the name is darkly humorous, as it means “mother and child” – referring to the two core ingredients: chicken and egg.

Serves 2
For the Japanese rice
130g Japanese rice
230ml water

For the chicken
250g of chicken thighs
½ medium onion
4 eggs, beaten
4 stalks coriander, leaves
picked

2 bowls of cooked rice
50ml mirin
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sake (optional)
60ml dashi (Japanese stock, below)

For the kombu dashi
1 piece of kombu (dried kelp) – about 240×50mm
500ml water

1 First, prepare the rice. Wash the rice well in a sieve for no less than 2 minutes, but ideally for 4 minutes, constantly turning it over until the water turns clear. Drain the rice and transfer it to a pan, then cover it with the cup of water. Let it stand for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.

2 Then, make the dashi. To make the stock, wipe the kombu with a clean cloth (kombu shouldn’t be washed). In a deep pot, soak the kombu in the water for about 30 minutes.

3 Heat it up slowly. When the water boils, take out the kombu and remove the stock from the heat. Set aside 60ml to use for the chicken, and freeze the remainder for future use.

4 Now, cook the rice. Cover the rice pan it soaked in, keeping the rice in the same water and bring the rice to the boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 8-9 minutes (or 4 minutes in a pressure cooker). Turn the heat off and then let it stand to cool for a further 10-15 minutes. You can freeze any leftover rice.

5 Slice the chicken into 2cm cubes and the onion thinly ( 5mm slices). Using a 18-20cm pot, pour in the sake, mirin, reserved dashi and soy sauce and bring to the boil. Add the onion and chicken and cook for another 3-4 minutes over a medium heat. Lightly beat the eggs and then pour ¬ of the mixture slowly in a circular motion over the top of the chicken as it cooks.

6 Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute more before pouring in the rest of the eggs. Cook until the eggs are set to your taste, I prefer them to be slightly runny and not over-cooked. Put the rice in a bowl and put the cooked chicken on top.
Yuki Gomi, yukiskitchen.com

Season's eatings: carambola cake

I have a friend with a house in the sprawling hills behind Byron Bay. In her orchard she has a star fruit (otherwise known as a carambola) tree. The fruit hang off the limbs like Christmas decorations. The blossoms are a beautiful mauve colour, clustered together, appearing at the same time as fully developed fruit. Native to Malaysia and Indonesia, the star fruit tree grows in wet, humid climates with distinct dry seasons. The trees propagate well in southern coastal Queensland, the Northern Territory and northern NSW. Trees in the tropics produce fruit all year round, those trees grown towards the more southern parts of the growing region will have a drop in production during the earlier, cooler months, but with the arrival of spring they will start producing well again.

A five winged fruit – it is only when cut that the star shape is revealed. Star fruit make a beautiful addition to a fruit salad, especially during the festive season, but at this time of year I like it best as the base for an upside down cake. It makes such a decorative ‘top’ when the cake is flipped.

With thin, waxy skin the fruit has a crisp, refreshing flavour reminiscent of a pineapple, especially when cooked. There is some astringency associated with the tips of the wings, but to counter this you can slice a thin sliver off the tips of the wings, which shouldn’t affect the star shape too much when cut crosswise. These wings can bruise easily, so handle star fruit carefully. The fruit yellows as it ripens, and should be eaten when yellow and fragrant, but before the tips of the wings turn brown.

150g raw caster sugar
150g butter (soft)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 free-range eggs
1 tbsp lemon rind finely grated
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bi-carb soda
200g self raising flour
85g shredded coconut
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp caster sugar (in addition to the above)
1 large or 2 medium sized carambola, cut into 5mm thick ‘star shaped’ slices

Preheat the oven to 180C and grease and flour a round 21cm springform tin.
Whip the butter and sugar until white and fluffy, it should resemble thick cream. Add vanilla and eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. When combined add lemon rind and fold through.
In a large bowl place the flour, baking powder, coconut and stir to combine. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter and egg mixture and fold through carefully. Add the rest of the flour mixture and lemon juice and fold until just combined.

In the base of your tin sprinkle the tablespoon of caster sugar and over this, arrange the carambola until there is little to no space left uncovered. Spoon the batter into your cake tin, spreading carefully and place in your preheated oven.

Bake the cake for 40 mins or until a skewer placed in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave until cool to the touch and then remove from tin to cool completely. An easy way to get the cake out, is the take off the sides of the tin (run a knife around the edge of the tin before you unlock the springform) place a plate on the top of the cake, and flip the cake over onto the plate. Do this quickly and with confidence. Then carefully remove the springform base. The carambola will be on the base of the cake in a pretty pattern, which is now your ‘top’.

Nigel Slater’s chickpea and nectarine couscous recipe

The recipe

Peel and dice 1 red onion and put it into a small bowl with 3 tbsps of red-wine vinegar. Set aside for 30 minutes for the onion to soften.

Put 500ml of vegetable stock on to boil. Put 250g of couscous into a bowl then, when the stock is boiling, pour it over the grain, cover and set aside.

Toast 50g of skinned whole almonds in a pan till golden. Tip them into a bowl, add a couple of drops of olive oil and a grinding of salt then toss them gently and set aside.

Halve, stone and dice 2 ripe nectarines or peaches. Toss them in a little lemon juice to stop them discolouring. Remove the leaves from a bunch of flat-leaved parsley and roughly chop half of them. Leave the remaining leaves whole unless they are very large. Remove and roughly chop the leaves from a couple of sprigs of mint and mix with the chopped parsley.

Put 4 tbsp of olive oil in a small mixing bowl and stir in 1 heaped tsp of ras el hanout and half a tsp of ground, hot or sweet, paprika.

Remove the cover from the couscous, then run a fork gently through it to separate the grains. Drain and rinse a 400g can of chickpeas and fold through the warm couscous. Fold in the diced nectarines, the chopped and whole herb leaves and the onion, drained of its vinegar. Season lightly with salt then add the toasted almonds and divide between two plates. Trickle the ras el hanout and paprika dressing over the couscous and serve. Enough for 2.
The trick

Ras el hanout, the North African spice mix contains different proportions of spices according to who mixes it. Generally made with the sweeter spices cumin, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and turmeric, there is also usually a little mild or hot chilli too. As the spices in ras el hanout are already toasted, you can fork it through the grain towards the end of cooking or, as I have done here, directly into the dressing. It is available from most major food stores.
The twist

Plums would be an interesting replacement for the nectarines, again making sure they are ripe. You could also introduce some meat in the form of roasted chicken breast. Or perhaps jagged lumps of feta cheese that you have marinated for an hour in olive oil, chopped basil and mint leaves and lemon juice.


Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk

Follow Nigel on Twitter @NigelSlater