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| Andrew Pern with a bottle of our Raspberry Vinegar |
Tucked away in the beautiful Yorkshire village of Harome, near Helmsley, is the thatched cottage of the Star Inn, home to one of Yorkshire's top chefs, Andrew Pern. The Star Inn has won many plaudits over the years since Andrew moved there in 1996, not least by Jasper Gerard, who wrote in The Telegraph in 2008 that "The Star is for jaded explorers on the verge of giving up the quest for the perfect rural pub."
Roux-trained, Andrew has won numerous awards including many years of a Michelin star and, last year being voted 19th in the National Restaurant Awards. He enjoys a great write up in the Egon Ronay Guide which states that "His and his team's cooking is quite exceptional..." and was a successful participant in last year's flagship BBC programme, Great British Menu. Andrew has also written a beautiful recipe book, "Loose Birds and Game" which features this exciting recipe, made with our Raspberry Vinegar...
Fallow
Deer Pie with Liquorice Gravy, Scottish Girolles, Womersley Raspberry Vinegar and Curly
Kale ‘Colcannon’
(Serves four)
I was sitting at
home one night ‘in charge’ of the kids, there was a knock on the door. Standing
there was Steve Smith, my Head Chef and a pie. We’d been talking about putting
a Pie of the Day on the blackboard to keep The Star more ‘pubby’ and Steve
conjured up this creation – combining deer and liquorice! In Yorkshire?!
Somewhat dubiously, I tasted it, breaking open the shortcrust topping, to the
steaming hot inside… and, I must say it is one of the nicest things I’ve ever
eaten. I can still taste it now, a beautiful, deep flavour with a slight edge
of fruit coming from the vinegar, and the vibrant mash to mop up those lovely,
liquorice juices. Who’d have ever thought you’d hear me saying that? A
must-try-it!
Ingredients
For the Pie: For the
shortcrust pastry:
1kg venison, diced 50g
plain flour
A little oil for frying 30g
butter
16 baby onions Pinch
of salt
½ bottle of red wine Cold
water
1 ltr game stock
2 cloves garlic, crushed For
the Colcannon:
8 Pontefract Cakes 4
Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tbsp cornflour 80g
butter
1 sprig of tarragon 20ml
whipping cream
Seasoning Seasoning
80g
curly kale
100g girolle mushrooms
50ml Womersley Raspberry Vinegar
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| Deer Pie with Liquorice Gravy, taken from Andrew Pern's Book "Loose Birds & Game" |
Method
Colour off the diced venison meat in a little oil with the
baby onions. Fry off until nicely browned, then add the red wine, raspberry
vinegar, stock, garlic and Pontefract Cakes. Simmer for approximately 1½ hours
or until tender. Thicken with cornflour, add mushrooms, tarragon and seasoning,
then allow to cool. Place in a suitable pot or pots, and set aside.
For the pastry, rub the plain flour and butter together with
a pinch of salt, until ‘breadcrumb-like’, add the water and combine together
into a smooth paste. Do NOT over-knead, as it will make the pastry tough. Chill
for 30 minutes.
For the Colcannon, first boil the potatoes until soft. Drain
through a sieve and mash with a little butter, cream, white pepper and salt.
Add the sliced curly kale, which will wilt with the heat of the potatoes and
keep warm.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Roll out the pastry
with a rolling pin and using a little flour for dusting to a thickness of 3mm.
Place over the pots of venison meat mixture and trim so that the rim is
covered. ‘Crimp’ the edges to stick the pastry down and make a little hole in
the middle (or use a pot Blackbird!) to let out the steam. Brush the pastry
with the remaining egg yolk and bake for approximately 30 minutes until golden
brown. Warm the Colcannon and place on the plate with the pie alongside. Eat to
your heart’s content!
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If you would like to try more of Andrew's menu, do contact The Star Inn on 01439 770397 reservations@thestarinnatharome.co.uk www.thestaratharome.co.uk/
