One of our finest meats has to be wild venison. Full of flavour, it can be used in a range of recipes. Here I sauté the base of the Stalker’s Pie in rapeseed oil; try the cold-pressed bottles from Hillfarm in Suffolk or J Stringer & Sons from Yorkshire.

Stalker’s Pie

Ingredients

Serves 8

Pie base

600g venison mince

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

2 tbsp butter

1 large red onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 medium/ large carrots, peeled and finely chopped

4 sticks celery, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 tsp juniper berries

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp caraway seeds

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp tomato purée

400ml cider or beer

300ml light game stock or water

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3 level tbsp plain flour

3 tbsp water

Potato topping

1.3kg peeled potatoes, cut into equal-sized chunks

50g salted butter plus 1 tbsp extra for the top

250ml whole milk

You will need a large pie dish – I used one measuring 30cm diameter x 8cm deep

Method

Pie base

1 In a large heavy-based pan, season and brown the mince in the butter and oil.

2 Stir in the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, juniper, oregano, caraway and bay leaves. Season and cook for another 10 minutes.

3 Add the purée, cider, stock and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a simmer, place on a lid and cook for 30 minutes.

4 In a bowl, mix the flour and water then gradually add into the mince while stirring.

5 Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring every now and then.

6 Check the seasoning, pour into your pie dish then leave to cool for at least 15 minutes so it forms a skin.

7 Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/Gas Mark 6.

Potato topping

1 Place the potatoes in a pan of cold salted water, bring to a simmer and cook until just soft. Strain then mash well, beat in the butter and check for salt.

2 Spread on top of the mince, mark the top with a fork then dot on the extra butter.

3 Bake in the oven for 45 minutes-1 hour or until golden on top and piping hot.