Bens Recipes

Classic Venison Ragu, red wine, pappardelle, crème fraiche & parmigiano Reggiano.

“This is one of my absolute favourite dishes to cook, it is delicious, warming, hearty & just a honest plate of food. There is something magical about a ragu of any sort watching it transform and develop in flavour is really special – enjoy cooking this!”

Ingredients

For the Venison Ragu
  • 1 kilo of top quality Venison mince (Ask your butcher)
  • 1 onion – peeled and diced small
  • 2 large carrots – peeled, topped and tailed and grated
  • 4 cloves of garlic – peeled and sliced thinly
  • 1 can of chopped tomatoes
  • 2 fresh ripe tomatoes
  • 1 small bunch of flat leaf parsley – leaves picked
  • 2 oranges – zest and juiced
  • 250g Heinz tomato ketchup
  • 1000g chicken stock (pre bought from the shop is fine if you don’t make your own)
  • 500g veal stock (pre bought from the shop is fine if you don’t make your own) 100g marmite
  • 100g orange marmalade
  • 200g soy sauce
  • A few proper drops of Tabasco
  • A good glug of lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce
  • 1000g of a full bodied red wine (doesn’t have to be expensive – ideal if you have opened one the night before and have lying around)
  • A good sprinkle of paprika
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Maldon sea salt or even better Sel gris (Grey salt – which is best used on Meat)
  • A pepper mill with white or black pepper
  • Sunflower oil

 

For The PAPPARDELLE
  • 1 kilo of high quality egg pappardelle pasta (Waitrose is my preferred option)
  • Maldon sea salt

 

For the PARMIGIANO REGGIANO
  • 250g best quality authentic Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated

 

For The CRÈME FRAICHE
  • 1 small tub of crème fraiche

Equipment Required

  • Small metal trays
  • Large roasting trays
  • Non stick frying pans
  • Wooden spoon
  • Chopping board
  • Knife
  • Tongs
  • Deep wide pot
  • Electronic scales
  • Mixing bowls
  • Peeler
  • Deep pot
  • Colander
  • Microplane
  • Maurices – large and small
  • Plate for dish
  • Cutlery

VENISON RAGU

Method
  • On a medium – high heat, heat two large non-stick frying pans until smoking then add sunflower oil and the mince and caramelise on a medium heat until golden brown all over, use a wooden spoon to break the mince up and stop it from clumping, season heavily with Maldon salt and black pepper.
  • Once golden add to a shallow and wide pot
  • Now add the onions and garlic into the same frying pans with a little more oil and fry on a medium heat for 10 minutes until golden, sweet, sticky, caramelised and starting to burn a little – now add the garlic and carrot and fry for a further 2 minutes then add all to the mince in the pot
  • Now add the red wine and heat the pot to a high heat and reduce the wine until it has evaporated into the mince – stir regularly and give the mince your love and attention!!
  • Now add all of the other ingredients except the flat leaf parsley
  • Now continue to stir and reduce the heat to a medium heat
  • Cook it for a minimum of 3 hours evaporating all of the liquid and letting the ragu take on a deep silky, dark glazed colour. Adjusting the heat and seasoning as necessary. The smell and taste should be amazing. Repeatedly taste the ragu as you go.
  • Keep on a low heat until ready to use
  • Top tip: Tastes even better the next day and ideal for lasagne or on toast or with fried eggs or with literally anything or even on it’s own.

 

PAPPARDELLE

METHOD

  • Bring a large pot of water to the boil and season it well with Maldon sea salt – check the taste.
  • Cook the pappardelle as per the packet instructions. When draining the cooked pappardelle in a colander, add plenty of good olive oil to stop the pasta from clumping.
  • Serve immediately.

 

 

PARMIGIANO REGGIANO

METHOD

  • This is what makes the dish; there is no point using anything but the very best authentic Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. I really can’t stress enough how important it is to source the proper Parmesan – these imitation ones are just a shadow of the good stuff! Try food halls or Waitrose if your local shop doesn’t stock it.

 

CRÈME FRAICHE

METHOD

  • Add a small tablespoonful on the top of the plated pasta just before serving.

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