Venison tartare, hazelnut mayonnaise and apple

Cooking time
no cooking required

Venison is well suited to tartare, but as ever, make sure the meat is cut into tiny cubes and seasoned very well.

By Tom Kitchin
From Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients

For the hazelnut mayonnaise

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp sherry vinegar
• 100ml/3½fl oz vegetable oil
• 50ml/2fl oz hazelnut oil
• 1 lemon, halved

For the venison tartare

• 400g/14oz roe deer fillet
• ice cubes, to keep the tartare cool as you prepare it
• 2 tbsp finely chopped apple
• 2 tbsp finely chopped carrot
• 2 tbsp finely chopped celeriac
• 2 tbsp finely chopped chives
• 2 tbsp roughly chopped hazelnuts
• 1 tsp finely chopped shallots
• 1 tsp sherry vinegar
• 4 quails’ eggs
• sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

To serve

• gluten-free sourdough croûtons

Method

1. For the mayonnaise, put the egg yolk, mustard and vinegar in a bowl. Whisk until emulsified. Place the bowl on a kitchen cloth (to stop it from moving around) and slowly whisk in the vegetable and hazelnut oil. Season with freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste, then cover and store in the fridge until needed.
2. For the venison tartare, use a sharp knife to remove any sinew from the fillet, then cut the meat into a very fine dice. Put the meat in a medium bowl and place in a large bowl or roasting tray filled with ice. Season the meat well with salt and pepper before mixing in the apple, carrot, celeriac, chives and hazelnuts.
3. Add a tablespoon of the mayonnaise. Stir in the vinegar and mix until combined, adding more mayonnaise if needed. I like to mould the tartare in a lightly greased metal ring from a stylish presentation, but it can be just spooned into the centre of serving plates.
4. Serve the tartare with a quail’s egg yolk on top of each portion and a little extra cracked pepper. Garnish with the croûtons.