Venison Saddle Cottage Pie with Kumara Gratin

For Chef Kia Kanuta, food is one of the most meaningful ways to honour Matariki. This year, he has created a recipe that brings together the flavours of the season: a twist on his Nan's Shepherd's Pie, this wild game and venison cottage pie topped with kumara gratin is made for sharing. As he puts it: "This recipe is very forgiving. Other game meats can be substituted, which is great because then you're experimenting and creating new recipes as well."

Make it your own. Gather your people.

Wine match suggestion: Pinot Noir

Serves 4 / Prep & cook time: 1.5 - 2 hours

Ingredients

For Cottage Pie Base:

• 400g diced venison saddle
• 200g wild boar mince
• 100g pork mince
• 100g venison mince
• 100g brown onion, finely diced
• 100g carrot, grated
• 100g celery, grated
• 100g swiss brown mushrooms, quartered
• 30g garlic, minced
• 250ml chicken stock
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp paprika
• 100ml red wine
• 15g fresh thyme
• 5g fresh rosemary
• 200 ml olive oil
• Flakey sea salt, to taste
• Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
For Kumara Gratin:

• 3kg purple kumara (sweet potato), or any variety will do
• 100g butter
• 100g parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 20g parsley, chopped
• 10g thyme, chopped
• Flakey sea salt, to taste
• Fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Method for Cottage Pie Base:

1. Over medium heat, in a large cast iron pan, add 100 ml olive oil
2. When lightly smoking, add onions, carrot, and celery (sofritto)
3. Cook out and caramelize the sofritto (onion, carrot, celery)
4. Then remove from pan and set aside
5. In the same pan, add the rest of the olive oil
6. Bring to a high heat to sear all of your meat separately, starting with the venison saddle
7. Once all meat is seared, remove from pan and set aside
8. Let pan cool slightly, then add garlic and mushrooms
9. Cook mushrooms until soft, then add tomato paste
10. Deglaze pan with red wine
11. Add chicken stock
12. Add sofritto (onion, carrot, celery) and seared meats back to the pan
13. Bring to a simmer
14. Add the tomatoes, herbs, and spices
15. Cook out to an almost bolognaise consistency
16. Let cool so kumara can be placed on top

This is your Cottage Pie Base – let cool over night for best results!

Method for the Kumara Gratin:

1. Peel and gently par-boil kumara until just cooked (should take about 8 minutes, depending on size)
2. Strain and let cool in the fridge enough to slice
3. Slice thinly lengthwise, about 3-5mm thick
4. In layers, arrange in a rose formation over the top of Cottage Pie
5. In between the layers, pour some melted butter, parmesan, sprinkle of thyme, salt, and pepper (you want a minimum of 3 layers)
6. On the top layer, sprinkle the rest of the parmesan, pat down, and bake the pie in the oven at 200 C for 20min; checking after the first 12 minutes until golden
7. Take out, let cool slightly, top with parsley and drizzle of olive oil

Now, if you’re anything like Kia, you’ll want to add more parmesan on top and pair with a a glass of Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir. Please feel free to adjust and change ingredients how you see fit to make this dish your own. Get creative and have fun! Manawatia a Matariki.