Alexander McCall Smith

A recipe for November: Venison Cassoulet from The 44 Scotland Street Cookbook

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November 2024

With The 44 Scotland Street Cookbook, readers can immerse themselves in the world of Edinburgh’s New Town and recreate some of their favourite characters’ signature dishes: enjoy Bertie’s much-loved Panforte di Siena, Angus Lordie’s famous cheese scones or host your own Scotland Street supper. This month you can savour the delicious Venison Cassoulet that the characters of The World According to Bertie tuck into in the ‘last supper’ of the book.

Serves: 6
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 3 hours
INGREDIENTS
4 tbsp olive oil
2 small red onions, chopped
800g (1 lb 12oz) diced venison
2 tbsp plain flour
Salt and pepper
200ml (7 fl oz) red wine
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
200g (7oz) cooking chorizo, diced
1 red pepper, diced
75g (2 ½ oz) chestnut mushrooms, halved
400g (14oz) tinned haricot beans, drained and rinsed
400g (14oz) tinned butter beans, drained and rinsed
400ml (14 fl oz) chicken stock
3 tsp redcurrant jelly
Salt and pepper

METHOD

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 150°C (300°F, gas mark 2).
  2. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large casserole and sauté the chopped onions on a low heat for 15 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, place the diced venison in a large bowl and sprinkle with the flour. Season generously with salt and pepper.
  4. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan and brown the venison in two batches over a high heat.
  5. Add the browned venison to the onion in the casserole and deglaze the frying pan with the wine. Add the resulting liquid to the casserole.
  6. Heat 1 more tablespoon of olive oil in the frying pan and sauté the garlic for 1 minute. Add the diced chorizo and cook until the oil is released.
  7. Add everything from the frying pan to the casserole.
  8. Add the red pepper, mushrooms, beans and stock to the casserole.
  9. Heat until the contents start to bubble then transfer to the oven and cook for 3 hours.
  10. Remove from the oven and stir in the redcurrant jelly.
  11. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Discover more delicious recipes inspired by the 44 Scotland Street books in The 44 Scotland Street Cookbook by Anna Marshall.