Smokey cowboy beans and venison meatballs
Servings:
6 people
Super simple, quick to put together - this meaty, smokey and rich crowd pleaser will satisfy. Saucy and mildly spiced, full of beans and lovely seasoned venison mince its just a case of sling it in the oven and forget about it until its ready. Whilst we think it's best made and enjoyed on the same day it can also be made in advance and frozen or chilled until needed. We hope you enjoy as much as we do.
Ingredients
- 500 g venison mince
- 400 g cooked beans (butter beans, white beans etc, including the juice) Bold Bean's beans are perfect
- 1/2 tbsp treacle
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 red onion (peeled and finely chopped)
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp each of ground coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper, crushed fennel seeds
- 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 350 g tomato passata
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- 50 ml of olive oil
- salt and pepper
- a handful of freshly chopped parsley for garnish
Herby yoghurt
- 200 g thick Greek style yoghurt
- 100 g natural yoghurt
- 1/2 clove garlic (crushed)
- a handful of herbs two stems of parsley, one of mint, one of basil and a few chives
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, season the mince with salt and pepper and add some chopped thyme about a quarter of the garlic and spices and mix until well incorporated. Divide onto more or less even amounts, roughly the size of squash balls, maybe a little larger.
- In a large oven proof pan, add half the oil, and heat over a moderate heat until its good and hot (but not smoking) then add the meat balls and turning them a little every now and again, begin to colour them off all the way round. Once they are all nicely sealed up and looking meat ball like, set them aside on a warm plate and return the pan to the heat.
- Put the rest of the oil in the pan and add the garlic, onions, and spices, along with the bay leaves and the remaining thyme, let this cook, stirring occasionally over a moderate heat until the veg softens and the aroma really gets going. Now, throw in the beans, their juices, the tomato passata, treacle and bring to a simmer, again, stirring a bit from time to time.
- Once everything is simmering nicely, put the meat balls back into pan with the beans so that they are evenly spread and then fling the whole thing into a 180 degree oven and bake for about half an hour.
- After half an hour they should be looking and smelling pretty tasty – remove them from the oven and allow them 15 minutes sitting time to just cool a little and to bring out the final finish on the flavours.
Herby yoghurt
- Mix everything together along with a pinch of salt and leave for 15 minutes before serving.
To serve
- Maybe serve this with a nice fresh seasonal veg slaw, and a herby yoghurt or some sour cream, maybe you go rice, maybe you go flatbreads, which is our favourite, or baked tatties, but a good sprinkling of parsley will lift it all up a bit whichever way you decide to go.
Recipe Notes
This one really does deliver on all fronts, can be prepared, cooked and even frozen in batches in advance for a quick and super easy supper when time is scarce.
Super simple, quick to put together - this meaty, smokey and rich crowd pleaser will satisfy. Saucy and mildly spiced, full of beans and lovely seasoned venison mince its just a case of sling it in the oven and forget about it until its ready. Whilst we think it's best made and enjoyed on the same day it can also be made in advance and frozen or chilled until needed. We hope you enjoy as much as we do.
Ingredients
- 500 g venison mince
- 400 g cooked beans (butter beans, white beans etc, including the juice) Bold Bean's beans are perfect
- 1/2 tbsp treacle
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 red onion (peeled and finely chopped)
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp each of ground coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper, crushed fennel seeds
- 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 350 g tomato passata
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- 50 ml of olive oil
- salt and pepper
- a handful of freshly chopped parsley for garnish
Herby yoghurt
- 200 g thick Greek style yoghurt
- 100 g natural yoghurt
- 1/2 clove garlic (crushed)
- a handful of herbs two stems of parsley, one of mint, one of basil and a few chives
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, season the mince with salt and pepper and add some chopped thyme about a quarter of the garlic and spices and mix until well incorporated. Divide onto more or less even amounts, roughly the size of squash balls, maybe a little larger.
- In a large oven proof pan, add half the oil, and heat over a moderate heat until its good and hot (but not smoking) then add the meat balls and turning them a little every now and again, begin to colour them off all the way round. Once they are all nicely sealed up and looking meat ball like, set them aside on a warm plate and return the pan to the heat.
- Put the rest of the oil in the pan and add the garlic, onions, and spices, along with the bay leaves and the remaining thyme, let this cook, stirring occasionally over a moderate heat until the veg softens and the aroma really gets going. Now, throw in the beans, their juices, the tomato passata, treacle and bring to a simmer, again, stirring a bit from time to time.
- Once everything is simmering nicely, put the meat balls back into pan with the beans so that they are evenly spread and then fling the whole thing into a 180 degree oven and bake for about half an hour.
- After half an hour they should be looking and smelling pretty tasty – remove them from the oven and allow them 15 minutes sitting time to just cool a little and to bring out the final finish on the flavours.
Herby yoghurt
- Mix everything together along with a pinch of salt and leave for 15 minutes before serving.
To serve
- Maybe serve this with a nice fresh seasonal veg slaw, and a herby yoghurt or some sour cream, maybe you go rice, maybe you go flatbreads, which is our favourite, or baked tatties, but a good sprinkling of parsley will lift it all up a bit whichever way you decide to go.
Recipe Notes
This one really does deliver on all fronts, can be prepared, cooked and even frozen in batches in advance for a quick and super easy supper when time is scarce.
