Sticky sloe gin venison steaks with parsnip and spinach rösti

Thank Melanie Johnson for this deliciously seasonal addition to your recipe roster.

Ingredients

For the venison

75ml soy sauce
75ml honey
30ml olive oil
75ml sloe gin
2 plums, halved and stoned
1 sprig rosemary
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 venison haunch steaks

For the rösti

3 medium parsnips, grated
1 courgette, grated
2 handfuls baby spinach, chopped
75g chia seeds
75g plain flour
2 eggs

Method

Add the soy sauce, honey, olive oil, sloe gin, plums, rosemary and crushed garlic to a large freezer bag. Mix everything together by massaging from the outside of the freezer bag and then add the venison steaks, ensuring they are fully coated in the marinade. Put the bag in your refrigerator for at least three hours and up to 24 hours.

Grate the parsnips into a large bowl, together with the courgette, spinach, chia seeds, plain flour and eggs, then season well. Use a fork to mix everything together evenly. Set aside for half an hour, so the chia seeds can thicken the mixture.

Add a splash of oil to a large frying pan and place a pastry ring in the pan. Spoon the rösti mixture into the ring and flatten it slightly with the back of a spoon into a ½in-thick rösti.

Fry for a couple of minutes until the mixture is set, then remove the ring and turn the rösti over. Repeat with the rest of the mixture in the same pan, until you have about six rösti. Place them on a plate in a low oven as you cook the venison.

Using the same frying pan (wipe it out with kitchen paper if needed), cook the venison steaks and plum halves over a high heat, reserving the liquid in the bag. Cook for 6–8 minutes on each side, then add the reserved liquid from the bag and cook for another couple of minutes.

Serve the parsnip rösti with the venison steaks and spoon over the pan juices. Perfect with green beans on the side.