Venison Loin with Blackberry Lavender Sauce and Leek and Goat Cheese Tart

This recipe is from Episode 3 of This Food That Wine

Wine Suggestion: Red California Zinfandel

Yield: 6-8 Servings

Ingredients

• 1 rack of Venison, cut in half, bones Frenched (cleaned) (6-8 bones)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (30 ml)
• ½ tablespoon mixed peppercorns, crushed (7.5 ml)
• Course salt, to taste
• 1 cup ruby Port (250 ml)
• 1 cup veal stock (250 ml)
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 medium sized shallot, finely diced
• 2-4 lavender petals
• 1 cup fresh blackberries (250 ml)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (230 degrees C).
2. Drizzle venison loin with ½ tablespoon olive oil and rub all over both racks. Rub the crushed peppercorns over venison and sprinkle with course salt to taste. Allow the Racks to sit out at room temperature for 10 minutes.
3. Preheat a large oven skillet to medium high heat on the stove top.
4. Add the remaining oil and allow it to heat for 30 seconds or until the pan is hot and almost smoking.
5. Once pan is hot place the two venison racks, fleshy side down into the hot skillet. Allow the venison to cook for 3-4 minutes or until a deep caramelized color and crust is achieved. Flip the Venison over to achieve similar results on the remaining side. Remove skillet from stovetop heat and place in the preheated oven.
6. Allow venison rack to cook for 8-9 minutes for medium-rare doneness.
7. Remove venison from oven and reserve the skillet to make sauce. Tent the venison racks loosely with a piece of foil. Allow venison loin to rest for 8-10 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, prepare sauce.

Wine Pairing

Description: Zinfandel is powerful, fruity, and high in alcohol – not a wine for the faint of heart! It is full bodied and very fruity with flavours of juicy, jammy raspberry and ripe cherry, with a long finish that cleanses the palate. There’s just a hint of brambly floral and spice in this wine’s aromas.

Pairing: A game meat like venison is a rich, flavourful dish which needs a big wine with lots of berry flavors to match the blackberry lavender sauce. A California Zinfandel is a perfect match. The wine has enough flavour and body to stand up to this distinctive meat, and the hints of lavender in the blackberry sauce are complemented by the subtle floral aroma in the wine. The goat’s cheese tart has a bold rich creamy taste that lingers in the mouth, and the Zinfandel cleanses the palate leaving your taste buds ready for the next bite.

Wine Suggestion: Cline Zinfandel (California, U.S.A.)