Recipes reprinted with permission from A Life At
Mudbrick by Robyn Jones, photography by Aaron
McLean, $55, published by Random House
Rack of venison with mushroom duxelles,
bread pudding, pickled beetroot, parsnip
purée and chocolate sauce
Serves 6–8
Venison, with its wild, earthy flavour, is quite commonly mixed with
chocolate on New Zealand menus. It's important to use quality dark,
bitter chocolate to gain maximum impact and depth in this dish.
It used to be hard to get a steady supply of venison but now it is more
readily available due to an increasing number of deer farms. Venison
makes a great winter dish.
The bread pudding uses leftover bread and most of the time it's made
as a dessert. However, here we have created a savoury version with
onions and herbs. It can be made in advance and kept in an airtight
container for a few days.
• Mushroom duxelles
5 shallots, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
50g butter
500g wild mushrooms, washed and finely chopped
50ml Noilly Prat
2 teaspoons chopped parsley
2 teaspoons chopped thyme leaves
salt and pepper
Sweat shallots and garlic in a saucepan with butter. Do not allow them
to colour. Add mushrooms and continue to sweat on a low heat until
all the moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated. Add Noilly Prat
and reduce until absorbed. Add parsley and thyme. Season with salt
and pepper.
• Bread pudding
250ml milk
100g butter
1.5 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon nutmeg
handful chopped thyme, rosemary and parsley, stalks reserved
20g diced onions
oil for cooking
half a loaf slightly stale day-old bread, cut into rough cubes
5 eggs, separated
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 120°C.
Place milk, butter, garlic, nutmeg and herb stalks in a saucepan and
bring to the boil. Take off heat and infuse for 30 minutes. Strain and
set aside.
Sweat onion in a frying pan with some oil until soft. Bring milk back
to the boil and pour over the bread. Stir through onion and chopped
herbs. Then add lightly whisked egg yolks.
Beat egg whites to a foam and add to the bread and milk mixture.
Season with salt and pepper.
Spread soft bread mixture out on an oven tray and bake in the oven
until set, approximately 40 minutes. Cool and cut into desired shapes.
Place cut bread pudding in a frying pan with some oil and fry until
golden and crispy.
• Pickled beetroot
60ml water
25ml rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 whole clove
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
4 black peppercorns
pinch ground ginger
1 teaspoon chopped red chilli
15ml white wine vinegar
½ clove garlic
6 baby beetroot, skin on
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook for
15 minutes and then take off heat and cool in liquid. Peel beetroot and
place back in liquid, cover and chill for 2 hours. Remove from liquid
to serve.
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