Venison, bell pepper and paprika are a good combination that make for a very flavorful stew. If you can’t find venison, lamb is a good substitute. I served it with roasted parsnips and mashed potatoes. The recipe is very similar to the venison and bell pepper ragù I posted a few days ago. In fact, only the end of the preparation is different.
Ingredients
For 6 servings
900 grams (2 lbs) venison stewing meat, in cubes
about 250 ml (1 cup) warm water or venison stock
3 red bell peppers
1 Tbsp hot paprika (or 2 tsp sweet paprika and 1 tsp chilli powder)
80 ml (1/3 cup) red wine
1 Tbsp flour, preferably semola di grano duro
1 Tbsp double-concentrated tomato paste (or 2 Tbsp single concentrated)
1 stick celery
1 onion
1 carrot
1 bay leaf
6 juniper berries
1 clove garlic
some thyme sprigs
olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley (for garnish)
mashed potatoes
Preparation
Prepare the stew using the recipe for Venison and Bell Pepper Ragù down to where it says “Up to this point the recipes for the ragù and the stew are the same.” Prepare the roasted parsnips and the mashed potatoes as well.
Clean the bell peppers and cut into pieces similar to the size of the venison. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over high heat and add the bell pepper.
Season with a bit of salt and sauté until the peppers are cooked but still firm to the bite.
Combine the venison stew and the bell peppers.
Use a ring mold to arrange the mashed potatoes nicely on each plate. The plates should be hot.
Arrange the stew around the mashed potatoes.
Top with roasted parsnips and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.
Wine pairing
This stew has a lot of flavor and can easily handle a powerful red Italian wine like a Sagrantino di Montefalco. It is made from Sagrantino grapes, is usually aged in oak barrels, and comes from Umbria. Other powerful Italian reds (Italians are preferred because of their good acidity and ripeness) like Amarone or from Campania or Puglia are also a good combination.
Superb use of the food rings there. I haven’t tried cooking with venison yet. My vegetarian wife balks at the sight of meat that may have come from something doe-eyed or fluffy (think Bambi related) but she can deal with me hacking at a side of beef or a chicken….
If you don’t tell her, you could just say it’s lamb or beef as that looks quite similar
Nice tip – I’ll try it out. However if I get caught I’m afraid you’ll get the blame….
That’s okay. I’m using to taking flak from veggies
Lovely looking stew Stefan. I like the use of the ring mold.
Thanks Conor. Without the blog I probably never had gotten the ring mold.
A great sounding dish, Stefan, and you presented it beautifully. Glad to see you used red bell peppers. They add a nice bit of color to a dish and I prefer their sweetness over the green bells. This must have been a delightful meal!
It was and thanks for the nice compliment! Green bell peppers are in fact unripe red ones, so you are definitely right.
Love the post, Stefan, and the way you tied the last few posts together to form this meal. Beautifully done and sounds wonderfully tasty. Now, I’m hungry and lunch isn’t for 3-1/2 more hours.
Sorry about that
Thanks Ricard for the nice compliment.