Recipe of Dina Nikolaou,
a prominent Head Cook and restaurateur
"Gastronomos" magazine of "KATHIMERINI" newspaper (2009)
Ingredients (for 8 people):
2Kg of deer meat, shoulder or thigh (ask the butcher to cut it into 4cm pieces)
750ml of white dry wine
2 carrots, peeled and cut into medium size slices
1 orange, the zest and the juice
2 yellow onions, grated
12 dried apricots, pitted and finely chopped
1 bouquet garni of: 2 bay leaves, 3-4 small sprigs of fresh parsley, 1/2 tsp of dried thyme and 1 tsp of black peppercorns (all tied up together in a piece of cheesecloth)
1/2 tea-cup of olive oil
2 tbsp of all-purpose flour
salt
pepper
1 tea-cup of hot vegetable stock (if needed)
3 tbsp of strawberry jam (or other red berries jam)
For the quinces mash:
6 medium quinces
1 1/2 litres of water
1/2 tsp of salt
1 leveled tbsp of sugar
3 tbsp of butter
1½ tea-cup of Greek thick yoghurt
2/3 tea-cup of Greek Kefalotyri cheese, grated (or parmesan)
salt
white pepper
Method:
Put in a large bowl the deer portions and add the wine, the carrots, the orange zest and juice, the onions, the apricots and the bouquet garni. Stir well, cover the bowl with cling film and leave in the fridge for 24 hours to marinate. About every 6-8 hours uncover the bowl and stir the meat well so all the pieces will get equally marinated.
Take the meat out and keep the marinade in the bowl without straining it.
In a spacious shallow pot warm the oil in high heat. Sauté the meat for 4-5 minutes until it gets nicely browned on all sides.
Sprinkle the meat with the flour and stir for 1 minute with a wooden spoon. Add the marinade in the pot (including the carrots and the apricots). Season with salt and pepper and leave the food to come to the boil.
Turn the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and slowly cook the food for about 1 hour or until the meat is really tender. If it is needed, add the hot vegetable stock during cooking.
About 5 minutes before you take the food off the heat add the jam and stir (the pectine of the jam will help the sauce to thicken up, also giving a nice sweet taste that suits to the deer perfectly).
For the mash, peel the quinces and cut each one in quarters (without discarding the pips and the core). Put the quinces in a spacious pot and add the water, the salt and the sugar. Leave to come to the boil in medium heat and cook for 40 minutes until all the liquids are absorbed (no need to get softer than they already have up to this point).
Leave the quinces to cool down a bit and discard the core and the pips. Put the flesh in a blender and whiz until they are completely mashed.
Transfer the pulp into a heavy-bottomed medium size pot. Add the butter and the yoghurt and warm up in low heat, stirring constantly, until you have a smooth thick cream. *** Arrange the consistency of the cream according to your preference.
Take the mash off the heat, add the cheese in, a bit of salt and pepper and stir until the cheese melts.
Serve the meat with the sauce and accompany with the quinces mash.
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