Venison en croûte with chivilade of cabbage and red wine and port sauce

Method

1. Make the pancakes first; beat all the ingredients together to form a batter.

2. Heat a little oil in a large non-stick pan and ladle in enough mixture to cover the base. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface then turn over and cook for a minute or two, until the pancake is cooked.

3. Repeat with the remaining batter to make 3 more pancakes - you will only need 4 for the recipe. Set the pancakes aside until needed.

4. To make the stuffing; heat the oil in a medium pan and cook the shallots and garlic until soft. Drain well and leave to cool.

5. Heat the butter in the same pan and cook the mushrooms for a few minutes until soft. Drain them in a sieve so that the stuffing is not too wet. Leave to cool.

6. Mix the cooled stuffing ingredients together and season well with salt and pepper.

7. To make 2 venison en croûtes; preheat the oven to 220C/gas 7

8. Cut the venison loin down the middle lengthways to make two thin loins.

9. Heat the oil in a pan and brown the venison all over. Leave to cool.

10. Roll out half the pastry dough to fit the meat like a parcel - it should be thin but supple.

11. Put one of the pancakes on top of the dough, followed by a thin layer of the stuffing to cover all the way around the venison.

12. Place one piece of venison on top.

13. To avoid making pastry-heavy parcels, cut out and discard the four corners then wrap the dough parcel to enclose the venison first folding over the short ends and then the long sides.

14. Repeat with the remaining pastry dough, pancake and stuffing .

15. Cook the en croûtes (depending on the size) for 20 minutes. (At this point it is useful to have a probe for testing the meat. The temperature should not rise above 55C. The meat should be rare. If you want it a little more well done, cook for another 5 minutes.

16. To make the sauce; heat 30g butter in a pan and cook the leek, shallots and bacon until soft.

17. Add the wine and redcurrant jelly and cook until reduced to a syrup.

18. Add the stock, cooking until reduced by half again.

19. Finally add the port and cook until reduced again. Add the remaining butter and season to taste with salt and pepper. Strain the sauce through a sieve.

20. To make the cabbage; cook the shredded cabbage leaves in just enough boiling salted water to cover, for 30 seconds. Squeeze dry and then add the walnuts, garlic and butter. Cook for a few minutes to soften the garlic.

21. Serve the venison en croûtes with the cabbage and red wine and port sauce.