Venison Tenderloin with Herb Crust

Ingredients

• 150 g white bread (deboned)
• 50 ml milk
• 1 Shallot
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
• 5 sprigs thyme
• Salt
• pepper (ground)
• 800 g venison tenderloin (prepped for cooking)
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 150 ml Heavy Cream
• 500 ml vegetable broth
• 200 g instant polenta
• 2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan
• pepper (ground)
• nutmeg
• tomato cubes
• Basil

Instructions

1. 1.

   Preheat the oven to 160°C with fan and top heat.

2. 2.

   Dice the white bread and pour hot milk over it. Peel, finely dice the shallot and sauté in hot butter until translucent. Add to the bread mixture and let cool slightly. Mix in the egg, parsley, and thyme leaves (reserve some for garnish), season with salt and pepper, and knead into a pliable dough.

3. 3.

   Pat the venison dry, cut into four equal pieces, season with salt and pepper, and sear all sides in hot oil. Divide the bread dough into quarters, flatten each on plastic wrap, place a piece of venison in the center, roll up using the wrap, then remove the wrap and press the crust firmly around the meat. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet and bake 15–20 minutes until golden.

4. 4.

   For the polenta, bring cream and broth to a boil, gradually stir in the polenta grains, and simmer for about 5 minutes while stirring. Set aside and let thicken for ~15 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and season with salt and nutmeg.

5. 5.

   Remove venison from oven, allow to rest briefly, halve, and serve atop the polenta.

6. 6.

   Garnish with tomato cubes, remaining thyme, and basil as desired.