Highland Roe Deer Wellington with Thyme Mash, Baby Vegetables and a Cinnamon and Port Reduction

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Wellington
1 packet puff pastry
1 loin of roe deer
1 chicken breast
bunch of tarragon and basil
1 egg white
0.5 pint double cream
4 blanched savoy cabbage leafs
salt and pepper

Thyme Mash
1 pound potatoes peeled (morris piper)
4oz butter
4oz milk
picked thyme leafs
salt and pepper

Baby Vegetables
4 baby turnips
4 baby carrots
4 baby leeks
4 baby beetroot
4 fine beans
4 strips celery
4 baby asparagus

Cinnamon and Port Reduction
0.5 pint veal stock
0.5 pint chicken stock
0.5 pint water
a few roasted bones from the roe deer
1 clove garlic
2 dessert spoons of chopped root vegetables (shallot, carrot, celery, leek)
1 stick cinnamon
0.5 pint port
0.5oz butter
salt and pepper

Method:
First make the wellington by sealing the roe deer in a hot pan with a little oil for one minute. Season, remove and place in the fridge. Next make the chicken mousse by placing the chicken breast and herbs in a blender, add the salt and pepper and blitz for one minute. Add the egg white and blitz for another minute. Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Once chilled gently blend in all the cream, pass and chill. Finally roll out the puff pastry to an 1/8th of an inch thick and place the cabbage leafs on top, then cover the roe deer loin with the chicken mousse and place them on top of the cabbage. Brush the edges of the pastry with egg wash, roll up and seal. Place on a baking sheet and cook for 12 minutes Gas Mark 7/200C/400F. Then rest for 10 minutes in a warm place.

While the roe deer is cooking make the mashed potatoes and peel and blanche all vegetables in boiling salted water until tender and crunchy. Keep hot.
To make the sauce by roasting the bones with vegtables for five minutes in a hot oven. Remove from the oven, drain and place in a pot with the rest of the ingredients except the port and the cinammon stick. Cook for ten minutes, pass through a fine sieve and reduce by half. Finally in a seperate pan boil the port and the cinnamon stick for one minute, add the stock and reduce by 1/3, pass and finsh with butter. Season to taste. Keep hot.

To serve, pipe the mashed potatoes in the centre of a plate, arrange three slices of roe deer wellington around the outside of the mash, place all the vegetables on top of the mash and finally drizzle the sauce around.

Eat away.