Venison Bourguignon With Chocolate
1.5 hr 
2 
Valentine’s Venison Bourguignon – with Food Thoughts Pure Cacao Melts and Boosh Organic Beef Bone Broth. Impress your other half this Valentine’s Day with our twist on this French classic. The wonderfully tender slow cooked venison is enhanced with a rich and velvety dark chocolate sauce to deliver a real depth of flavour. Venison and chocolate are a match made in heaven, so if you’re looking to spoil your special someone, then this is the perfect indulgent meal for two.
You will need
- MARINADE
- 500 ml red wine
- 1 thyme sprig
- 2 crushed garlic cloves
- 1 star anise
- 5 tsp brandy
- INGREDIENTS
- 400g diced venison
- 1 thyme sprig, 1 parsley sprig, 1 bay leaf
- 50ml olive oil
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 300ml of Boosh Organic Beef Bone Broth (available from Ocado & booshfoods.com) or other good quality stock
- 2 carrots
- 6 small shallots
- 15g Food Thoughts Pure Cacao Melts
- 50g diced pancetta
- 100g of mushrooms
- ½ handful of roughly chopped parsley
- Sea salt and ground black pepper
Method
In a large bowl, combine the diced venison and marinade ingredients, cover and leave in the fridge for three hours (or more if you can wait…)
Once marinated, separate the venison from the marinade and save the marinade in a bowl for using later.
Tie together the thyme, parsley and bay leaf with string to make a bouquet garni. Peel the onions, chop the mushrooms and peel and cut the carrots into chunks ready for cooking.
Heat a large casserole dish with a few tablespoons of oil over a medium heat. Add the venison and cook for at least 20 minutes until well browned.
Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, add the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes while stirring.
Add the marinade and Boosh beef bone broth to the dish and bring to a boil, then add the bouquet garni, onions and carrots. Once boiling reduce the heat to a simmer and partially cover for 1 hour 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the meat feels tender and the sauce looks rich and glossy.
A few minutes before the venison is ready, take a few spoonful’s of the sauce and add to a bowl. Whisk in the Food Thoughts Cacao Melts and then re-add to the casserole dish. Once mixed together, turn off the heat and cover.
Heat a frying pan with the rest of the oil over a medium heat. Add the pancetta and fry for 2-3 minutes, then stir in the chopped mushrooms and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add to the casserole dish and stir through. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then stir in the parsley and you are ready to serve.
