Peppered Venison medallions with creamy mushroom, horseradish and mustard sauce

Serves 4

4 x venison leg steaks
2 T coarsely ground or crushed black pepper
1 T salt
3 T light olive oil
1 large red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 C mushrooms, finely sliced
1 C cream
2 T horseradish sauce
2 T grain mustard
½ C chopped chives or scallions

Method

Pat the venison leg steaks dry with kitchen paper, place on a plate, rub with half the pepper and salt. Turn and rub in the remaining seasoning. Leave to sit 10 minutes, brush with 2 T of the oil. Heat a fry pan and when just beginning to smoke, put the venison in and press down firmly. Cook over a moderate to high heat for 2 minutes (do not touch), then turn over and cook another 2 minutes for a rare steak. For a more well-cooked steak, slice each steak in half horizontally before cooking - this will prevent it burning and drying out. Keep steaks in a warm place while you finish the sauce. Don’t wash the pan as it contains some lovely flavours. Add the remaining oil and sauté onion until it begins to caramelize, stirring often. Add the mushrooms, cook until they begin to wilt then pour in the cream and bring to the boil. Cook the sauce until it’s reduced by 1/3 and thickened slightly, then mix in the horseradish and mustard. Pour in any juices, which have run from the meat. Taste for seasoning and stir in the chives.

To serve, place a leg steak in the centre of each plate and spoon the sauce over it. Surround with green vegetables and serve a side bowl of mashed potatoes or yams on the side.

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