Seared venison with plum ginger sauce and vermicelli sauce
Venison and plums are a delicious match – fruity sauces always go so well with game meat.
Ingredients
Vermicelli salad
- 100 g vermicelli noodles
- 1 carrot peeled and cut into thin matchsticks or grated
- 100 g snow peas tips and stringy bits removed and thinly sliced lengthways
- 1 red capsicum core and seeds removed and thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons thai basil leaves chopped (if you can’t get Thai basil, use normal basil)
Venison and plum sauce
- 300 g venison medallions at room temperature
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger finely grated
- ¼ cup red wine
- 2 tablespoons plum jam
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce use tamari soy sauce to make gluten-free
Dressing
- 1 teaspoon plum jam
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce use tamari soy sauce to make gluten-free
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
To serve
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon thai basil leaves chopped (if you can’t get Thai basil, use normal basil)
Instructions
- BRING a full kettle to the boil.
- Place vermicelli noodles in a medium, heat-proof, bowl (or a pot) and pour over boiling water to cover. Stir to separate strands, cover with a plate and leave for about 4 minutes until soft. Drain and use kitchen scissors to snip noodles in a few places to shorten the strands. Drizzle with a little oil to prevent noodles sticking together.
- Pat venison dry with paper towels and season with salt. Heat a medium, dry, fry-pan on medium heat. Toast sesame seeds for 1–2 minutes until golden and fragrant. Remove from pan and set aside. Increase heat and add a drizzle of oil. Cook venison for 2–3 minutes each side for medium-rare (depending on thickness) or until cooked to your liking. If it’s BBQ weather, you could always cook the venison on the BBQ! Cover venison with foil and rest for 5 minutes before slicing against the grain.
- For the plum sauce, return pan to low to medium heat and add a drizzle of oil. Stir-fry garlic and ginger for 30 seconds, add red wine and simmer for about 1 minute until reduced by half. Stir in plum jam, fresh plums (if using) and soy sauce and simmer for about 1 minute until slightly thickened. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper. If sauce becomes too thick and jam like – add a dash of water to thin it out to a nice pouring consistency. Stir through any resting juices from venison.
- In a large bowl, mix all dressing ingredients together. Add noodles and all remaining salad ingredients and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- To serve, divide vermicelli salad between plates. Top with venison and drizzle over plum sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and Thai basil.
Notes
If you’ve got some fresh ripe plums (Black Doris plums would be perfect!), chop a couple up and add them to the sauce for an extra fruity flavour. Venison is delicious with this recipe, but you could try it with beef as well. This recipe is gluten and dairy free and is diabetes friendly.
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