Ingredients:
For the vegetables: 4 large potatoes, 4 small heads of fennel, 20 g butter, 1 l vegetable stock, 1 star anise, 3 sprigs fresh thyme
For the meat: 200 g venison loin, 50 g pork bacon, salt and black pepper, oil and butter for frying
For the juniper berry jus: 100 ml red wine (e.g. Leopard's Leap Culinaria Grand Vin), 5 g juniper berries, 1 bay leaf, 500 ml beef or poultry stock, 15 g cold butter
Preparation:
First prepare the vegetables. Peel and wash the potatoes and cut them out with a cutter about 4 cm in diameter. Alternatively, you can cut the ends of the potatoes straight off to get the typical cylinder shape of the jacket potatoes. Then heat a wide-bottomed pan and put in the butter. Fry the potatoes well on one side until well browned. Then lightly fry the other side of the potatoes.
Add the washed fennel heads and cook for 5 minutes. Then pour in the vegetable stock, add the star anise and thyme sprigs to the pan and let the whole thing simmer, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes. When you can easily pierce the potatoes with the tip of a knife, they are done. Remove the vegetables from the pan and continue to reduce the liquid until it thickens and set aside – you can pour it over the vegetables later as a sauce.
Now it's the meat's turn. Preheat the oven to 180 ᵒC. In the meantime, season the meat with salt and black pepper and wrap it in the bacon. Heat the oil and butter in a pan and fry the meat in it until golden brown. Then cook in the oven for 4 minutes and leave to rest.
For the juniper berry jus, now heat the red wine with the juniper berries and bay leaf in a saucepan and reduce until the liquid has reached a syrupy consistency. It is best to use the red wine that you would like to serve with the meal later. Add the stock and reduce over a medium heat. Strain the thickened sauce into a clean pot, stir in the cold butter and keep the sauce warm. Finally, arrange everything on a plate and enjoy!
Our wine recommendation
An equally complex red wine such as the Leopard's Leap Culinaria Grand Vin 2020 goes particularly well with the complex aromas of the dish. The fruity and spicy notes of the classic red wine blend harmonise wonderfully with the flavours of the dish. Its elegance also makes the Leopard's Leap Culinaria Grand Vin a wonderful food companion.
