Wild Mushroom and Venison Stroganoff

Another solid Jamie Oliver recipe here which is really getting into some autumn flavors. Venison is great for this time of year as are mushrooms. We went with oyster and shiitake mushrooms for this. Lots of fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice really ties this one up nicely.

200 g white rice
extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
300 g venison loin, fat and sinews removed, trimmed and sliced into finger-sized pieces
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
250 g mixed exciting, robust mushrooms, wiped clean, torn into bite-sized pieces
a small bunch of fresh flatleaf parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped, stalks finely chopped
a knob of butter
a good splash of brandy
zest of 1/2 a lemon
150 ml creme fraiche or soured cream
a few little gherkins, sliced

Cook the rice according to the packet instructions until it's just undercooked and drain in a colander. Put the rice back in the pan, cover with tinfoil and leave to one side to steam - this will give you incredibly light and fluffy rice.

Heat a large frying pan on a medium heat and pour in a glug of extra virgin olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and cook for about 10 minutes until softened and golden. Remove from the heat and spoon the onions and garlic out of the pan on to a plate. Keep to one side.

Season the meat well with salt, pepper and the paprika. Rub and massage these flavourings into the meat. Place the frying pan back on a high heat and pour in some more olive oil. Add the mushrooms and fry for a few minutes until they start to brown. Then add the meat and fry for a minute or two before adding the parsley stalks (you can do this in two pans or in batches if your pan is not big enough) and the cooked onion and garlic. Toss and add the butter and brandy. You don't have to set light to the hot brandy, but flaming does give an interesting flavour so I always like to do this.

Once the flames die down, or after a couple of minutes of simmering, stir in the lemon zest and all but 1 tablespoon of the creme fraiche and season to taste. Continue simmering for a few minutes. Any longer than this and the meat will toughen up - it doesn't need long, as it's been cut up so small.

Serve your fluffy rice on one big plate and your stroganoff on another. Simply spoon the remaining creme fraiche over the stroganoff, then sprinkle over the sliced gherkins and the parsley leaves. Eat at once!