Björn Swanson’s Venison with Pumpkin & Lovage

For the Venison

Ingredients:

• 1 x saddle of venison (1 loin)
• 100 grams brown butter
• Maldon sea salt

Method:

1. Fry the venison in brown butter and let it chill for about 10 minutes.
2. Then place it in the oven for 8 minutes at 160°C.
3. Remove it from the oven and leave it to rest for another 5 minutes at 60°C, then slice it.

For the Lovage-Béarnaise

Ingredients:

• 4 egg yolks
• 200g brown butter
• Lovage (10 grams)
• Salt, sugar, piment d’Espelette
• Reduction of yuzu juice, tarragon vinegar, apple vinegar, miso & caraway seeds

Method:

1. Beat the egg yolks together with 250 ml of the reduction at 65°C for about 25 minutes.
2. Then stir the butter into it until it resembles a nice emulsion.
3. Leave it to chill for about 35 minutes.
4. Julienne the lovage into thin slices, and then stir the slices into the emulsion shortly before serving.

For the Amalfi-Lemon Puree

Ingredients:

• 3 salty-pickled Amalfi-lemons (takes about 10 month)
• 1L roasted chicken stock
• 100g butter
• 150g sugar

Method:

1. Cook the lemons in the chicken stock for about 3 hours.
2. Add the sugar to the liquid, and continue to cook the lemons for 20 more minutes.
3. When the lemons are soft, mix them as a whole fruit (with everything) with the the butter under it until you get the perfect puree consistency.

For the Pumpkin-salad

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut pumpkin (sliced into fine strips)
• Pumpkin seed oil
• 1 pickled jalapeño (sliced into to fine strips)
• 30 ml Prelibato-vinegar  
• Salt, Sichuan pepper, sugar

Method:

1. Stir the pumpkin seed oil with the Prelibato vinegar, salt, sugar and some Sichuan pepper to make a spicy dressing.
2. Add the dressing to the rest of the ingredients to complete the salad.

Recipe courtesy of Björn Swanson of Michelin-starred Golvet in Berlin.