Highland Venison Carpaccio with Juniper and thyme served with warm charred leek and cucumberby Barry Bryson of Cater Edinburgh

This is a great late summer starter for four with superb flavours and takes no time at all, alternatively have it as a main for two and serve with good bread as a hearty warm salad.  Ask your butcher for some well-trimmed loin of venison (very similar to a piece of fillet beef) and let him know it’s for a raw carpaccio so it needs to be super fresh and red looking. At this time of year the whole dish can be made using Scottish produce.

Ingredients: Served 4 as a starter or 2 as a main
350g of Venison loin
1 cucumber
1 trimmed leek
4 Juniper berries
2 stems of fresh thyme
150ml good quality extra virgin oil
1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
1 tsp of Dijon mustard
2 tsp of honey 
small packet of fresh chervil or parsley 
300ml Chicken stock (fresh or use bouillion)
rock salt and pepper to taste

Method
1 Marinate your venison in a little of the olive oil and season heavily, roll your venison tightly in cling film and place in the freezer for one hour so it firms up and becomes easier to slice very thinly.
2 Warm your olive oil in a small bowl over a small pan of simmering water and add your juniper and thyme, the gentle warming will infuse the flavours.
3 Slice your cucumber and leek into different sizes and strips so that you have a variety of shapes.
4 Chargrill your leek for some nice external colouring then poach them gently in simmering chicken stock, remove and place of a tray.
5 Chargrill your cucumber pieces on a hot non-stick pan to get some nice colour onto them.
6 Use your leftover warm oil to make a dressing by whisking in the Dijon, vinegar, seasoning and honey, it will now be a nice thick emulsion.
7 Take your venison out and using the sharpest knife cut thin strips and lay them out on a raw meat board to come up to room temperature for a few minutes.
8 Assemble your venison in strips onto plates and start layering your warm leek and cucumber around it and on top of it, then finally drizzle with the warm dressing and garnish with little chervil flowers or parsley.

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