Venison fillets on apple-asparagus lasagna

Sauces are something very difficult to master. The best way to tell an "ambitious" restaurant from a "seriously good" one is to try the sauces. Even the brainchild of this dish (Johanna Maier, of the Hubertus in Filzmoos, which is one of the most picturesque spots in Austria, by the way) admits in interviews that she sometimes works on a sauce over the course of 2 years or so to get it just right.
I have experienced the same. I've been indulging in more serious cooking for about four years now, and I am only beginning to feel confidence in making my own sauces. For the longest time, it hasn't been a matter of just whacking some ingredients together in a pan to form something delicious, perfectly complementing the meat it was served with. I was either following a recipe and/or, more often than not, screwing things up despite all my good intentions.
Maybe it was luck yesterday, or it might have been a break-through, a small step for mankind, but a huge leap for me.
The best thing, though, is that this is not only a great sauce, combining all that goes so well with venison (wine, orange, thyme), but it's also infinitely simpler to produce than the original and, in fact, most sauces home cooks aspire to re-produce in the confines of their own kitchens. True, I use some short-cuts, stock concentrate and thickening granules, but hey, I live in the 21st century, I only get to start cooking when the wee one is in bed and asleep and I've got a hungry mob to feed. So to some extent, convenience is a virtue. If you crave standing at the stove for hours, skimming the froth emanating from the veal/venison bones and the like, please buy Johanna Maier's book. Or read up in your Larousse. This recipe is for those who want gourmet on the go. Well, not quite. But an impressive meal prepared in no more than half an hour. It's full of surprising flavours, apart from the delicious sauce there's the freshness of the apple paired with cinnamon and cloves. As I said - all the usual suspects coming with the venison, but in an entirely new and exciting combination. Dishes like this one prove that Johanna Maier truly deserves her place up in the 19 points (4 toques) ranks in the Gault Millau she shares with Ducasse and the like ...

Venison fillets on apple-asparagus lasagna*
(serves 2)

2 venison fillets (ca. 200 g each)
1 apple (Granny Smith)
12 green asparagus stalks (the thin, Thai variety)
chicken stock

For the apple marinade:
250 ml water
125 ml white wine
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp sugar
1 cinnamon stick
3 cloves

For the potato mash:
2 white potatoes (floury)
3 tbsp single cream

For the sauce:
50 g onions (finely chopped)
1 sprig thyme
20 g butter
100 ml port wine
100 ml dry red wine
100 ml orange juice
2 tbsp stock concentrate (beef)
thickening granules (ca. 1 tbsp, optional)

Prepare the sauce first. Fry the onions and thyme in the butter until starting to brown. Deglaze with the port and wine, then add the orange juice and stock concentrate. Reduce to the required consistency (you should be left with roughly 6 tbsp of sauce). Use thickening granules to your liking (I love these granules, as they'll thicken anything and unline Maizena, you can add more as you go along. They don't have any taste at all and they don't cloud your sauce either, and for me they have become as indispensable as pepper.)
Meanwhile, peel and dice the potatoes, then cook in salt water until soft. Mash with a potato ricer or similar and add the single cream. Process to a smooth mash.
Cook the asparagus in the chicken stock until al dente, refresh and keep warm.
Warm the ingredients for the apple marinade, take off the heat, core the apple and cut into very thin rounds. Add the apples to the marinade and leave to infuse.
Fry the venison fillet in some oil or butter, until just pink inside (ca. 2 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness).
Put a tbsp of mash in the centre of your plate, top with an apple slice and some asparagus, repeat 3 times. Top with the venison fillet and drizzle with sauce. Serve immediately.

* The idea for this dish is taken from Johanna Maier's cookbook. The way to prepare the venison as well as the sauce, as well as the addition of potato mash are my own contribution.

Comments

[Nicky]

Dear Johanna,
I truely love Johanna Maier's cookbook! Although I haven't cooked many dishes from it, it is a wonderful resources of inspiration. Your creation looks mouthwatering - even if it is just breakfast time around here...

[Angelika]

Hi Johanna, your new dish looks absolutely great - and professional ! I will give it a try soon - I love potatoes - and even more I love apples (which I seem to owe to my name ;)...) I do agree with you that with so many jobs we have to fulfill - and nevertheless cook so much for those whom we love (and we also love ourselves a little bit ;)) by having so much fun with cooking) it's always a question of time. I have a few recipes which are time-consuming, like my home-made canelloni, but in this case it's more of a ritual which I only
do on special occasions. But for everyday's cooking I prefer scrumptious but non-time-consuming recipes - and there are lots of, it's just a matter of inspiration -and of phantasy as well. I am curious as for the granulate, I have never used (or even seen) it before. Why not use it when the result is just as you like it ! Have a nice Friday ! (I will try your mint & blueberry cheese cake tomorrow, but one BIG instead of 12 MINIs) Take care, angelika

[Rachel]

I'm so blown away...you know, I am always attempting to create something wild and tasty at the same time, with no results :( Just looking at your dish makes me want to abandon the experiment lab and go back to the ol' recipe book. By the way...I've never tried venison!

[johanna]

Hi rachel, venison is a pretty recent discovery for us, too. the fillet is definitely like good beef, only more tender and more flavour-intensive. Give it a try, but make sure it comes from a trusted source!

[Bell]

looks yummy thanks for the recipe.

could you fix your paragraphs so that they have spacing between them. they all blur into one page long paragragh unless the last sentence only has a few words. my eyes thank you!

[Theresa]

I'm tickled by the idea of the apple-mash-asparagus tower being called a lasagne. Wordplay certainly adds flavor to the dish - and this one is lovely. Thank you for sharing!