The Cottage Smallholder

Photo: Game casserole

The freezer bit of our indoor fridge freezer has finally died. RIP you temperamental old geezer. You have no idea of the heartache that you have caused us over the years.

The fridge is still working, thank goodness and we have a small backup freezer in the barn. So I’ve been cooking up things that used to be in the defunct freezer. Yesterday it was mixed game casserole. The essential ingredient for this, apart from the game element, are the shitake mushrooms. If you can’t get fresh ones use dried ones (10% of the fresh weight) soak and add them plus the soaking water at the start of cooking.

We often find game bargains marked right down in Waitrose. These are salted away in the freezer until we have enough to make a vast casserole in our slow cooker/stock pot. Slow cooking really enhances the flavours and it is a very economical way of cooking as it uses so little energy.

This is a delicious casserole – rich, warming and packed with deep flavours. The root vegetables are a good foil too bringing a sweetness to the dish. We’ve frozen portions in flat zip lock bags that can be quickly unfrozen in a sauté pan as needed. This would also be fabulous filling for a pie topped with rough puff pastry.

Mixed game casserole with shitake mushrooms (serves 8-10 greedy people)

Ingredients:
700g of mixed game, boned and chopped into 2 cm cubes (ours consisted of pigeon, rabbit and pheasant)
600g of venison chopped into 2 cm cubes
350g of carrots – peeled and chopped into rings
300g of celeriac – peeled and chopped into cubes
2 celery stalks chopped fine
1 medium red onion chopped
2 chubby cloves of garlic chopped
Half a tsp of dried tarragon
1 tsp of anchovy sauce
3 tbsp of mushroom ketchup
4 tbsp of plain flour seasoned with a pinch of salt and lots of ground black pepper
750 ml – 1000ml of good hot chicken stock to cover the meat and vegetables
To be cooked and added at the end:
150g of Shitake mushrooms
300g of chestnut mushrooms
1 tbsp of olive oil
3 tbsp of water
Method:
Roll the chopped meat in the seasoned flour mix any remaining flour into the prepared vegetables. Add the garlic and tarragon to the vegetables and stir well
Put a layer of vegetables in to base of the slow cooker followed by a layer of meat and continue layering to fill the slow cooker.
Add the anchovy sauce and the mushroom ketchup. Pour over the hot stock so that it just covers the meat and vegetables.
Set the slow cooker to high. After about an hour the casserole should be bubbling. When it is bubbling turn the slow cooker down to low and cook for a further two – three hours until the vegetables and the meat are cooked. I test after two hours on low and then at 30 minute intervals.
When the casserole is cooked slice the mushrooms and sauté them in the olive oil for a few seconds turning them constantly. Add the water, stir and let them simmer gently (lid on) until they are cooked. Add the cooked mushrooms and their juices to the casserole, stir well and serve on warm plates.