(Photo by Andreas Fuchs)

Venison Goulash

Servings: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1kg venison chuck (2-3cm)
• 1 bay leaf
• 10pc peppercorns
• 500ml red wine
• 200g celery
• 100g carrots
• 250ml chicken stock
• 100g pancetta
• Oil
• Salt, pepper
• 100g cranberries
• Crème fraîche or sour cream

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut the onions roughly and mix with the venison, bay leaf, peppercorns, and wine for 1-2 days.
2. Take the meat out of the wine, dry and sear off in a hot pot—big enough to hold all ingredients later—with oil until golden brown. Take out and then sear off the roughly diced celery, carrots, and pancetta until it is a nice brown color throughout. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add the seared meat again and top with the red wine-soaked onion, the red wine, and also the chicken stock. Braise slowly for around 90 min, constantly checking so it’s not burning on the bottom or the pot.
4. Once the meat is tender and cooked, check for the consistency of the sauce; it should be like liquid cream. If it’s too runny, keep the Goulash on the heat and reduce further; if too thick, add some more chicken stock.
5. At the end, add half of the cranberries.
6. Serve with crème fraîche, mini pears, and the other half of the cranberries. Serve with Spätzle and garnish with thyme or rosemary.

Spätzle

INGREDIENTS

• 250 grams flour
• 3 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, mix the flour, eggs, and salt, and beat until it gives off bubbles.
2. Moisten a “Spätzlesbrett” (a wooden board with a single handle) in the boiling water. Spread a small amount of dough on it and, with a big-handled scraper, scrape thin strips of dough into slightly boiling water.
3. When the spätzle rise to the surface, remove them from the water and put them into ice water.
4. Toss them with little vegetable oil, so they don’t stick together. For serving the spätzle, sauté them with butter in a pan, garnish them with butter and chives.