Venison Casserole with Chestnuts

A completely delicious dish, made with six venison sausages, each cut into four, and about 150g of halved chestnuts.

Other ingredients are:: chopped celery, two chopped red onions, two finely chopped chestnut mushrooms, tomato puree, beef stock, two large
splashes of red wine, a heaped dessert spoonful of cornmeal, and about 400g of water.

Begin the vegetable component of the dish first, by frying the red onion and the celery in half a dessert spoonful of sunflower oil, until the onion begins to brown. Stirring frequently. Then add the diced chestnuts, and the mushrooms. Cook for another seven minutes or so at a medium heat.

Add boiling water, the tomato puree, and the beef stock. Add cold water to a jug containing the cornmeal and stir together. Add the mix to the pan of vegetables. Stir continuously for at least three minutes.

Preheat the oven to around 190 deg C. Decant the casserole gravy into a ceramic lidded pot.

Cook the venison sausage pieces in half a dessert spoonful of sunflower oil, initially at a high heat, which should be considerably reduced. Cook the sausage pieces for at least twenty minutes, turning frequently until they are browned. Add the venison to the casserole, and place in the middle shelf of the oven. Cook for 100 minutes, lidded.

Now you have time to prepare the potato mash. Boil chopped potato for twenty minutes, then decant to a bowl with a slatted spoon. Add three spoonfuls of plain yoghurt, and half a teaspoonful of Dijon mustard. Mash together. Keep the mash hot in a bowl in a steamer.

Serve together, with or without pepper.