Venison with roasted eschallots and morels

Serves 4

16 dried morels
4 eschallots (shallots)
3 tablespoon grapeseed oil
salt and pepper
1 potato, quartered
250ml chicken stock
¹/ ₂ tablespoon soy sauce
¹/ ₂ tablespoon mirin
1 x 10cm piece konbu
4 x40-50g venison
1 pinch ground sansho
1 handful spinach

16 dried morels
4 eschallots (shallots)
3 tablespoon grapeseed oil
salt and pepper
1 potato, quartered
250ml chicken stock
¹/ ₂ tablespoon soy sauce
¹/ ₂ tablespoon mirin
1 x 10cm piece konbu
4 x40-50g venison
1 pinch ground sansho
1 handful spinach

Sauce
200ml veal stock
200ml port
¹/ ₂ teaspoon soy sauce
3 tablespoon morel soaking liquid

Soak the morels in water at least three to four hours before cooking. In your initial rinse, wash well to remove all the grit and dirt. Keep the soaking liquid for the sauce.

Roast the eschallots in two tablespoons of the grapeseed oil, in an oven preheated to 120C, for 20-30 minutes or until tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Turn the potatoes into batons about the size of your thumb. Cook in the stock with the soy sauce, mirin, some salt and konbu until soft.

To make the sauce, reduce the veal stock to 80ml. In a separate pan, reduce the port to 50ml - it should be syrup-like. Combine the stock, port, soy sauce and morel soaking liquid and bring to the boil. Set aside until ready to use.

Season the venison with salt, pepper and ground sansho. In a hot frying pan (but not smoking) add one tablespoon of grapeseed oil and seal on both sides. (Tetsuya serves venison rare, but cook it more if you like.) Rest and slice in half.

Blanch the spinach in some boiling water.

Squeeze excess liquid from the morels and heat in the sauce.

To serve, place a mound of spinach in the middle of each serving plate. Put a piece of potato and eschallot on top, followed by the venison and morels. Spoon over the sauce.