This is the favorite Christmas recipe of chef Thomas Kooijman, Bar ALT
Why make it difficult when it can be easy? All that stress at Christmas around the perfect dinner, the craziness that everyone thinks they have to indulge in... Caviar, truffles, foie gras, the best wines and so on are sprinkled around. That's right, that's nice, but secretly it's quite a hassle. And it always hurts in the wallet...
Well, then you should try this recipe! It is fun to cook and not too much hassle. Ha! Every half hour we look at the stew, then enjoy each other and the Christmas atmosphere. Because people, after a year like this, you really shouldn't make things more difficult for yourself at Christmas - or at all - than necessary.
Thomas Kooijman, chef of Bar ALT shares his Ultimate Christmas Recipe here. Not difficult, but very tasty. Hunter's pie! Bar ALT, does that sound familiar? That's possible, it is one of the few restaurants that really specializes in beer-food combinations. You can go there for it bear matings from your 8-course menu to the tastiest pasta with truffle and a good glass of wine.
Ingredients for 4 people:
- 800 grams of deer poulet in cubes
- 200 grams of celeriac cut into 0.5 cm cubes
- 150 grams of carrot cut into 0.5 cm cubes
- 250 grams of onion coarsely chopped
- 750 ml game gravy
- 500 ml water
- 6 cloves
- 3 pieces star anise
- 10 juniper berries
- 500 ml tasty amber beer (preferably bock beer)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 50 kg butter (just kidding, 400 grams is enough)
- 1 kg floury potatoes
- 2 egg yolks
- 300 ml milk
- 40 grams of chives, finely chopped
- 150 grams of old wives' cake / breakfast cake
- 1⁄3 green cabbage finely chopped
- 1 granny smith apple in cubes of approximately 0,5 cm
- 50 grams of sifted flour
- 4 bay leaves
Season the venison cubes with salt and pepper and mix with the flour. Heat a good layer of oil in a frying pan and sauté the meat until nicely browned (this is also possible in 3 times). Deglaze the pan with a good dash of beer so that all cooking residues in the pan are removed. Place the meat in an old-fashioned stew pan and add the beer from the deglazed pan.
Now put on a new frying pan and fry the onions and carrot together until they have a nice golden brown color, then the sweet notes come out beautifully from the vegetables and also add this to the stew pan with the meat. Now add the game gravy, water and beer together with the chopped garlic, celeriac, bay leaf and spices (put these in a metal tea egg so you don't have to look for the spices at the end). Now bring everything slowly to the boil, put the lid on and let it simmer for 3 to 4 hours and finish it off with the old wives' cake and 200 grams of butter.
If the stew is still a bit too wet, you can always add a little sifted flour. After adding, let it simmer for another half hour! Finally, add the apple cubes for a bit of freshness.
While the stew is simmering, you can start with the mashed potatoes and green cabbage. Peel the potatoes and cut them into equal pieces, put them in water with 10-15 grams of salt per liter! And just cover the potatoes with water. When the potatoes are done, drain them well, let them steam and work them through a sieve as quickly as possible. Heat the milk and the remaining butter. Now mix this into a nice thick puree and add 4 egg yolks at the end, this ensures that it becomes nice and airy from the oven. Put the mashed potatoes in a piping bag with a nice serrated nozzle if you have one.
Stew the green cabbage nicely with some olive oil and water, a little crispy is nice because otherwise it will all be so soft. With everything done, we can now assemble the Pie. Start with the home-made deer stew, then a layer of green cabbage and then the mashed potatoes. The cabbage also ensures that the mashed potatoes and the venison stew do not touch each other too much, otherwise the mashed potatoes will become so wet! Finish the dish in a convection oven at 180 degrees until it is really hot, this will take about 25 minutes and then a few more minutes under the oven. grill position for a nice color of the mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with the finely chopped chives for some sharpness and natural details.
Do you not like cooking yourself during the holidays? Then take a look the website from BAR ALT, you can order a Turkey Dinner here. Or a three-course dinner box, read more here.
- Prepare the entire dish a day in advance and store it in the refrigerator. Heating will take a little longer, assume 45 minutes and a few minutes under the grill.
- For a crispy crust on top, you can spread some breadcrumbs and melted butter over the top and sprinkle it before it goes into the oven.
- Just have fun together these days, don't take it too seriously if the vegetables are not exactly half a centimeter, it will work out
- Have you always wanted to eat like a chef at Christmas? Then it becomes…chicken, fries and applesauce, ha.
Thomas wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and hopefully see you soon at BAR ALT
