Venison & juniper stew
The Navajo love their lamb and mutton, but back in the day – at the right times of the year – they'd also get out there and hunt things like elk, which they'd stew with wild juniper berries. What's amazing for me is that thousands of miles away in Britain we were hunting deer for venison and stewing that with juniper too. I guess some combos are just brilliant, no matter where you live. Don't worry if you can't get venison, because stewing beef will also be delicious. Really nice served with some rice, beans, a jacket potato or flatbreads, or, if you're a bit more traditional, some nice steamed greens. A humble but delicious stew.
Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
What these numbers assume — 14 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Beef | 100g cooked | 250 |
| Potato | 1 medium (173g) baked | 161 |
| Venison | 100g cooked | 158 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Carrot | 1 medium (61g) | 25 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Celery | 1 stalk (40g) | 6 |
| Rosemary | 1 tsp dried (1.2g) | 4 |
| Garlic | 1 clove (3g) | 4 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons plain flour
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 800 g quality stewing venison or beef, cut into 2cm chunks
- olive oil
- 2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 sticks celery, trimmed and roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon juniper berries, crushed in a pestle and mortar
- 2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
- 1 knob butter
- 6 sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 organic beef stock cubes
- 600 g small new potatoes, scrubbed clean, larger ones halved
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped