Venison Pie

Instructions

Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add about two tablespoons of olive oil, enough to coat the base when you swirl it. Fry the onion until soft and translucent, adding the garlic partway through, then stir in the parsnip and carrots. When all the vegetables are soft, tip them into a casserole dish.

Add a little more oil to the empty pan and raise the heat to medium-high. Coat each piece of venison lightly in the flour and put it in the pan, then turn the pieces with a spatula so they brown evenly. You only want to sear the outside, so 5 to 10 minutes is the limit.

Transfer the venison and any juices from the pan into the casserole dish. Add the ginger and redcurrant jam, then pour in boiling water until the level sits just below the top of the contents, and stir.

Finely chop a generous amount of parsley, thyme and rosemary and stir them in, along with black pepper and a pinch of salt. Cover the dish with its lid.

Bake at about 180°C for about an hour, then stir and check whether the venison is cooked through. If it is not, return it to the oven and check again every 10 minutes or so. Once the meat is cooked, take off the lid.

Roll the puff pastry to about the thickness of a £1 or 1 euro coin and drape it over the dish. Trim off the excess with a knife, decorate the top if you like, and pierce the pastry in two or three places so steam can escape.

Brush the pastry with milk and raise the oven to 200°C. Bake for a further 20 minutes, until the pastry has risen and turned golden brown, then serve.