Grilled venison fillet with penny bun dauphinoise

I rarely use cream and bacon in my recipes. Mostly because that's what everyone does.

It's an easy way to give game dishes heaps of flavour. But if that is the only way you cook game meat, everything will tend to taste the same. However, there’s no denying that bacon and cream are crowd-pleasers.

I experimented with giving the otherwise classic dauphinoise a little twist. The result is a cream for the potatoes made with penny bun mushrooms, garlic and thyme. The ultimate comfort food.

Of course, this wonderful dish must be served with red deer, the King of the Forest. Specifically, a tournedos, cut from the fillet and wrapped in pancetta.

• 700 g potatoes, cut into 3mm slices on a mandoline
• 15 g dried penny bun mushrooms (cep/porcini/Boletus edulis)
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped.
• 1 tablespoon freshly picked thyme leaves
• 250 ml whipped cream
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 170 degrees C

Penny bun dauphinoise

Place the mushrooms in a bowl and just barely cover them with boiling water. Let them soak for 15-20 minutes. Remove them from the water and coarsely chop them. Save the water.

Put a saucepan on a medium heat. Pour 2 tbsp. of olive oil into the pan and add the garlic and then the mushrooms. Add the thyme leaves and season with salt and pepper. Pour in the mushroom water through a fine sieve and let it reduce. Add the cream and let it heat through for 5-10 minutes.

Put the potatoes in an ovenproof dish. Season with salt and pepper and pour the mushroom sauce over them. Mix everything well and season with salt and pepper.

Bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, until they are tender and golden on top.

Red deer tournedos

• 4 steaks of at least 200 g, cut from the fillet.
• 4 slices pancetta
• Olive oil
• 50 g butter
• 1 clove of garlic
• Thyme
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• Butcher's twine

Season the steaks with salt and pepper. Wrap a slice of pancetta around each steak and secure with butcher's twine.

Put a heavy-bottomed frying pan on a high heat. Put 2 tbsp. of olive oil into the pan and then add the steaks.

Fry the steaks to obtain a dark golden crust. Turn the steak and reduce the heat to medium.

Add the butter to the pan with the garlic and thyme. Spoon the melted butter over the steaks and cook until the steaks are medium-rare, 52-55 degrees C. Let the steaks rest for 5-10 minutes.

Sautéed spinach

• 2 bunches of spinach, or a ½ bag. Washed 3 times.
• 1 clove of garlic, thinly sliced
• Olive oil
• The juice of one lemon
• Salt and pepper

Fry the garlic in a frying pan in 2 tablespoons of olive oil without letting it brown. Add the spinach and season with salt and pepper. Squeeze lemon juice over the spinach and sauté the spinach until it wilts. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon. Drain the spinach in a colander.

Serve the steaks with penny bun dauphinoise and some sautéed spinach.