Venison Steaks on Lentils with Bacon, Apple Slices and Lingonberries

Ingredients

• 150 g lentils
• 500 g deboned venison back
• 3 Garlic cloves
• 1 onion
• 2 carrots
• 150 g bacon
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 14 bay leaves
• 600 ml Vegetable Broth
• 50 ml dark balsamic vinegar
• Salt
• pepper (to taste)
• 1 tbsp dried marjoram
• 1 apple
• 20 g butter
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 sprig thyme
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 100 ml red wine
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 2 tbsp lingonberries

Instructions

1. 1.

   Preheat the oven to 180 °C (356 °F) with upper and lower heat. Soak the lentils overnight in plenty of cold water. Trim the venison back, remove any sinews, cut into equal-sized pieces and lightly flatten them. Peel the garlic, onion, and carrots and dice finely. Dice the bacon into small cubes. Heat oil in a pot, add the bacon and vegetable cubes, and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add the soaked lentils and bay leaf, stir briefly, then deglaze with a splash of broth. Simmer for 20–25 minutes, adding more broth as needed until the lentils are tender. Finish by seasoning with balsamic vinegar, pepper, salt, and marjoram. Wash the apple, quarter it, remove the core, and cut into wedges. Sauté in hot butter for 2–4 minutes. Season the venison steaks with salt and pepper. In an oven‑proof skillet, brown the steaks briefly in oil and butter along with thyme and rosemary sprigs. Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for about 6–8 minutes until just pink inside. Remove the steaks from the pan. Deglaze the pan with red wine, reduce slightly, strain, season, and drizzle over the steaks. Before serving, stir chopped parsley into the lentils. Plate the steaks atop the bacon‑lentil mixture and garnish with apple wedges and lingonberries.