Grilled Venison Chops with Creamed Spinach and Straw Potatoes

Serves: 2

Difficulty: Medium

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking Time: 20 mins

• 4 venison chops or rack
• ½ tsp flaked sea salt
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• 2 tbsp olive oil

For the creamed spinach:

• 1 bag of baby spinach
• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus 2 tbsp later
• 2 heaped tbsp full fat crème fraîche
• A good scratch of nutmeg
• 1 small clove of excellent garlic (must not be sprouted)
• Salt and pepper

For the straw potatoes:

• 400 g peeled large potatoes
• Sunflower oil for frying
• Salt

Wash the spinach thoroughly and drain it in a colander. Get a pan large enough to take all the spinach and get it on a high heat. Add 1 tbsp oil and when it is hot, not smoking, chuck in all the spinach. Spit, crackle, sizzle it will go. Stir away, turning the leaves until all are totally collapsed. Remove from the heat.

Press the spinach against the side of the pan with a wooden spoon and tip away all the excess water. Stir the spinach and repeat the process, getting rid of as much water as you can. Put the spinach in a blender.

On top of the spinach flop in one heaped tablespoon of crème fraîche, nutmeg, the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper. Blitz everything up together until the purée is totally smooth. Adjust the seasoning to taste.

Heat up the creamed spinach just before you need it, as if kept on a long slow heat, ticking over, it will lose its fabulous colour.

Peel and very thinly slice the potatoes. Stack the slices and slice them lengthways into matchstick thickness.

Preheat the grill to high, and heat 2 inches of oil in a medium pan to 180ºc.Season the venison chops with salt and the fennel seeds and rub them all over with the oil. Place them close under the grill, turning them once until cooked to your preference. I would say ideally they should be pinky rare within, so about 4 minutes on each side. Or seal the rack in a pan and then cook in a hot oven for about 12 mins.

Drop the potato slithers in the oil and fry until golden. Stir them occasionally to help them colour evenly. Remove to kitchen roll to drain and salt generously.Serve the venison chops with the warmed spinach and tangled chips.