Grilled Venison With Cauliflower Puree & Fried Polenta

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Ingredients

• 2 Potatoes 
• 30ml Cream 
• 100g Cake Flour 
• 2 Eggs 
• 150g Panko Crumbs 
• Butter 
• Salt
• 350g (4) Sirloin Steaks 
• 8 Sprigs Thyme 
• 2 Garlic Cloves 
• Butter
• 150ml Crème Fraîche 
• Chives
• 16 Broccolini stems 
• 16 Cherry Tomatoes

Beetroot Puree

• 3 beetroots
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Pinch of ground cumin

Tartare 

• 400g Venison Loin/Fillet (preferably springbok or blesbok), diced
• 1 tbsp capers, finely diced
• ½ small red onion finely diced
• 1 roasted beetroot, diced into small cubes, same size as venison
• ¼ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• Freshly Ground black pepper
• ½ tsp lemon zest

Pickled Red Onion

• 1 red onion
• Clove Garlic
• ½ cup white wine or apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup water
• Sugar

The Crostini

• Baguette, thinly sliced.
• Olive oil
• Salt

Wasabi Cottage Cheese

• 100g smooth cottage cheese
• ¼ tsp prepared wasabi paste (add more to taste)
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp lemon juice

For the Beetroot Puree

Place beetroot in a small roasting tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Cover and roast at 180˚C. for 60 to 80 minutes, until tender.

Cool the beetroot and peel.

Reserve 1 beetroot for the tartare.

Roughly chop the remaining beetroot and add to blender with remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth.

Put in a squeezy bottle for plating.

For the Tartare

Add all the ingredients into a bowl. Mix well until combined. Set aside for plating.

For the Pickled Red Onion

In a medium-sized bowl, add the red onion with ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp sugar. Mix and rest for 15 minutes.

In a saucepan, add water, vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt and the garlic clove. Bring to the boil and simmer for a minute.

Pour the hot liquid over the onion and allow to cool in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

For the Crostini

Drizzle the sliced baguette with olive oil and season with salt.

Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 100˚C. for 5 minutes, or until crisp. Keep an eye on them so that they don’t burn. This can happen quickly!

Once crisp, remove from heat and cool.

For the Wasabi Cottage Cheese

Thoroughly combine all ingredients and put in a squeezy bottle for plating.

Plating:

Place a serving of the tartare on the centre of the plate and shape into a disc. Surround the tartare with a nest of wild rocket leaves. Place a few slivers of the pickled onion on top of the tartare, spreading them out evenly.Use the squeezy bottles to make alternating dots of beetroot puree and wasabi cottage cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with crostini on the side.