Venison Surf and Turf with Salsa Verde on a Warm Salad of New Potatoes and Baby Spinach

Surf and Turf is one of the staples of many a restaurant in Australia. It can be ordered in Returned Servicemen Clubs to some of the best restaurants in town. My take is to incorporate a European twist to the recipe by using venison for the 'turf'.

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6 Portions:
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Prep: 10-15 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Venison

  • 6*175g venison steaks
  • 2 garlic clove crushed
  • 3 tbsp. pink peppercorns, crushed
  • 2 tbsp. virgin olive oil
  • Maldon salt

Tiger Prawns

  • Tiger Prawns, left whole with shell on
  • Juice of 1/4 of a lime
  • 1 tbsp. walnut oil or olive oil
  • Maldon salt and freshly ground pepper

Salsa Verde

  • 4 tbsp flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp mint leaves
  • 4 anchovie fillets
  • 2 tbsp capers
  • 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbps olive oil
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Potato and Baby Spinach Salad

  • 200g new potatoes, washed
  • 100g baby spinach, washed
  • 2 plum or vine ripened tomatoes, finely diced
  • 3 tbsp. parmesan shavings
  • 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
  • Malden salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

  1. To Marinate Venison: Coat the venison in the olive oil and lime zest and season the venison with salt and press the peppercorns and garlic. Cover the venison and refrigerate for at least15 minutes
  2. Salsa Verde: Place all the ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor, blender or mortar and pestle and puree the ingredients, then gradually add the olive oil with the motor running until you have a thick sauce. Add the freshly ground pepper and mix together well. If the sauce is to thick add a little more olive oil.
  3. To Prepare Salad: Bring a saucepan large enough to hold the potatoes to the boil. Add the potatoes to the saucepan and leave on a strong simmer for 10-15 minutes (this is dependent on the size of the potatoes). They are cooked when a small knife passes through them easily. When cooked remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
  4. To Cook the Venison: Remove the steaks form the refrigerator. Heat a grill pan over a high heat and when hot place the steaks on and cook for 3-6 minutes on either side dependent on how well done you like them, or pan fry in a hot pan. Remove the steaks and keep warm while they rest for 8-10 minutes.
  5. Tiger Prawns: Cover the prawns in the garlic, seasoning and oil, either char grill or pan fry in a little sesame oil for 3 minutes, turning half way through cooking. The prawns should be pink all over when cooked. Remove them from the heat and keep warm.
  6. Salad: Slice the potatoes into 1cm thick slices. Place the spinach leaves in a bowl and add the tomato, new potatoes, seasoning, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Toss the salad together lightly.
  7. To Serve: Distribute the salad evenly among the plates. Place the venison on the centre of each plate and place a tablespoon of the salsa Verde on the venison. Place the prawn on the salsa.. Spirnkle the parmesan around the plates. Serve.
  • This dish also works well on the barbecue, the only change to make would be serving the salad cold, or heating the potatoes on the BBQ once sliced. So why not make the most of the warm weather while it lasts.