Venison ragu pappardelle

Mac & Wild at Falls of Shin, Scotland opened last summer under the watchful eyes of founders, Andy Waugh and Calum Mackinnon who already run London’s popular Mac & Wild restaurant. Both show off the best of Scottish produce.

Here’s the Mac & Wild recipe for a delicious venison-based ragu pasta dish. Ragu is the Italian term for a meat-based sauce eaten with pasta, and here the chef has created a venison ragu, which will be a hit with fieldsports fans. Pappardelle are very wide, flat ribbons of pasta that taste delicious – and they’re easier to eat than spaghetti!

Recipe for venison ragu pappardelle Serves 5

Ragu Ingredients
500g venison mince
250g grated carrot
250g finely diced onion
250g finely diced celery 
1kg cherry tomatoes blended 
100g tomato purée 
1L mushroom stock
500ml thick chicken stock
500ml veg stock 

Method 
Brown the meat until all water has evaporated and meat caramelises.
Keep to one side. 
Sweat down the onions, carrots and celery for 20-30mins until they go dark brown and sticky. 
Mix the meat back in. 
Add the cherry tomatoes and tomato purée. 
Stir in all the stocks. 
Pop a lid on and leave to gently simmer for 4hrs. Or put in the oven at 120C for 6hrs. 
Check for liquid and top up with water if necessary. 
Stir occasionally.

Venison papardelle Ingredients (feeds 5)
500g x venison ragu
Enough papardelle to feed everyone 
100ml x olive oil
1 x bunch picked basil leaves
250g x block of Parmesan grated
150g x finely diced shallot

Method
Heat the ragu. 
Cook off the pasta al dente. Reserve the cooking water.
Add the olive oil and pasta to the ragu and stir well. 
Stir in 300mls of the cooking liquor/water. 
Add the remaining ingredients.