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Provencal Style Venison Stew
Provence is the southern part of France, next to Italy. Roman soldiers
were given tracts of land in Provence. They lived out their retirements
by hunting and fishing in Provence.
Marinade
- 6 ounces of olive oil
- One sliced carrot
- One sliced onion
- 1/2 head of celery, cut into one inch chunks
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup wine vinegar
- 4 or 5 stalks of parsley
- 4 shallots
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
- 6 black peppercorns
- Salt
Heat the olive oil and brown slightly the carrot, onion, and celery. Add
the remaining ingredients to the browned vegetables. Simmer for 30
minutes. Permit to cool and then use as a marinade.
The Stew
- 3 pounds of venison roast, cut into large slices
- 2 tablespoons bacon fat
- Fresh herbs (use thyme, rosemary, oregano, marjoram) about 1/2 cup total
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1/4 pound of bacon cut into cubes
- 3 or 4 carrots
- 3/4 pound pitted olives, black and green mixed (not canned olives but
kalamati, nicoise, ascolane, picholines, etc. - to pit, pound olive with
a mallet, cut the pit from the olive)
- Salt and pepper
- 3 or 4 chopped tomatoes
Marinate the venison in the marinade for at least 24 hours.
Remove the venison from the marinade, reserving it, and saute the meat in
the bacon fat, cooking both sides. Put the meat in an oven proof
casserole. Pour the marinade over it. Add a bit more wine if necessary.
Add the fresh herbs, the garlic, the bacon, the carrots and the olives.
If the olives are salty, you probably won't need more salt.
Cover the meat with tin foil. Put the lid on the casserole. Bake in a
slow oven (about 275 degrees F) for at least 3 hours, or until meat is
tender. Ten minutes before serving, defat the sauce and add the tomatoes.
Serve with lots of egg noodles, dressed with a bit of olive oil and
parmesan cheese and a ladle of sauce from the stew.
If you prefer, you may use red wine in the marinade rather than white wine.
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