Blackened Spiced Wild Venison with Roast Plum, Blue Cheese Salad

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• 1kg Boneless Wild Venison Roast

For the marinade

• 1 tsp allspice
• 2 tsp ground black pepper, Good pinch salt
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• Zest 2 lemons
• 1 tsp garlic puree
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp BBQ sauce
• 1 tbsp balsamic glaze

For the plums

• 6 black ripe plums
• 1 tbs caster sugar 
• 3 star anise

For the candied walnuts

• 250g walnut halves or pecans
• 3 tbs caster sugar
• 1 tbs butter, softened

You'll also need

• 250g creamy mild blue cheese
• 1 bag rocket

HOW TO COOK IT

To prepare the venison

1. Combine the allspice, pepper, rosemary, lemon zest, garlic puree, olive oil, BBQ sauce, and balsamic in a large mixing bowl.
2. Place the venison roast in the marinade bowl. Using clean hands or latex gloves, thoroughly massage the marinade into the meat. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan force.
4. Place the marinaded venison roast on top of a wire rack in a matching baking tray.
5. Roast in the oven for 50 minutes. This should give you a medium rare roast for 1kg of venison.
6. Remove from the oven and rest for 10 minutes before, removing netting and slicing thinly and serving with berry sauce.

To prepare the plums

1. Cut plums in half, pit. Cut each plum lengthways into eight pieces. Preheat the oven to 200C. 
2. Smear softened butter over the base of a baking tray, then place plum pieces on top in a single layer. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the plums, then scatter in the star anise. Roast until the sugar has melted and the plums are softened - about 15 - 20 minutes. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before removing from the baking dish.

To prepare the walnuts

1. Heat a medium non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add walnuts, caster sugar, and butter and cook over medium for 5 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning. When the sugar mixture starts melting, stir frequently until all the sugar is melted and the nuts are coated. Transfer immediately onto non-stick parchment and immediately separate the nuts. Allow to cool fully.

To serve

Scatter sliced wild venison over rocket leaves and crumble cheese, plums and walnuts on top.