New Caledonia Civet de Cerf is a traditional New Caledonian recipe for a classic stew of venison in a lightly-spiced base of red wine, carrot, tomatoes and onion flavoured with pandan leaves and thyme. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic New Caledonian version of: Venison Stew (New Caledonia Civet de Cerf).
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The Javanese Rusa Deer was imported and released in New Caledonia and now it's a pest. As a result deer hunting and venison are both very popular on the main island. For that reason you will see lots of French-inspired venison recipes from stews like Venison Bourgignon to roast venison cuts, fried venison steaks and venison kebabs (brochettes). This recipe I've seen before from Reunion and it seems to have been introduced wholesale into New Caledonia, with the exception that pandan leaf is used instead of the original allspice leaves.
Ingredients:
750g stewing venison
1 carrot, diced (optional)
4 tomatoes, finely chopped
3 onions, finely chopped
8 garlic cloves, crushed
5 cloves
3cm piece of ginger, grated
1 thyme sprig
2 strips of pandan leaf, tied in a knot
500ml red wine
a few parsley sprigs
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
oil for frying
Method:
In a mortar, crush together the salt, garlic, pepper, ginger, and cloves.
Place a cast iron casserole (Dutch oven) over medium heat. Add a generous glug of olive oil and use to brown the meat all over.
Add the onion and continue frying, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes or until the onion is soft and translucent.
Stir in the crushed mixture along with the and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and thyme and bring to a simmer. After 15 minutes's cooking, Pour in the wine and 300ml of water along with the pandan leaves, then cook, covered over low heat for about 30 minutes.
The sauce should be smooth when cooked. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley before serving.
If you would like more body to the stew then you can add in 2 taro corms, chopped, along with the carrot.
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