Welcome

Reaching the final of Masterchef 2007 was a rollercoaster of emotion, with huge highs and lows, but I loved every minute and learnt a huge amount. I owe a great deal to John and Gregg who had faith in my ability when I did not believe in myself. Since competing on the programme my life has changed considerably. I now write cookery columns for two magazines, give cookery demonstrations and am just working on my 13th cook book - unlucky number for some but not for me!!! I love all forms of country cooking, using seasonal and locally sourced produce. This blog is to enable me to share with you a few of my recipes and baking ideas. Enjoy Hannah xxxx

Friday 11 January 2013


Venison Ragu in Roasted Pattypans
Serves 4 preparation time 25 minutes cooking time approx 2 ½ hours
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
olive oil
3 bay leaves
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 sprig of thyme
½ tsp ground allspice
500g venison (leg or shoulder) cut into 3cm cubes
400g tinned chopped tomatoes
400ml full bodied red wine
2 tbsp sundried tomato puree
4 large patty pan squash or baby pumpkins
Salt and pepper
Equipment: heavy based casserole pan, roasting tray
Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5/375F/190C.  Place the onion and garlic in the casserole pan with one tablespoon of olive oil and simmer over a gentle heat until the onions are soft and start to caramelise.  Season with salt and pepper and add the star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves and thyme to the pan and cook for a few minutes further.  Remove the onions from the pan and set aside.  Add the venison to the pan with a little more oil and cook for a few minutes until the meat has browned all over.   Return the spiced onions to the pan with the meat, add the chopped tomatoes, wine, puree and 200ml of water.  Stir and heat until the liquid in the pan is hot, then transfer to the oven and cook for 40 minutes then turn the temperature down to Gas Mark 2/300F/150C and slow cook for a further 2 hours until the meat is tender.
For the squash, using a sharp knife cut off the top of the squash, keeping the stalk intact.  Hollow out the squash using a spoon.  Place the squash and lids in a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven  with the casserole at Gas Mark 5/375F/190C for about 30 minutes until the flesh is soft but the squash still hold their shape (I do this during the initial cooking of the ragu and then reheat just before serving once the ragu is cooked).   To serve,  fill the squash with the venison ragu and top with their lids. 

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hi Hannah,

My name’s Clare and I’m part of the DotComGiftShop team.

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http://www.dotcomgiftshop.com/blog/blogs-for-her

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All the best,

Clare

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