Rack of Cervena with Nut and Almond Crust

Deer were introduced to New Zealand from England in the late 1800s but numbers grew and they became a problem and deer culling was introduced. In the 1960s entrepreneurs started shipping the meat to Europe and hunting became lucrative. The deer population dwindled to the point that deer farming became economically viable. In 1970 the first deer farming license was issued. Today, there are more than two million deer on 4500 farms throughout New Zealand - the farms easily identified, when the beasts aren't visible, because they have taller, more robust fences than dairy or sheep farms.

A handful of specialised venison marketing companies have been licensed to use the Cervena® natural tender venison appellation. In order to qualify as Cervena the animals must be three years of age or under, and raised in the most natural ways - free range, grass-fed and given no hormones or steroids.

"Cervena‚" comes from a combination of the Latin, Cervidae, meaning deer, and venison (which originally meant "hunting" in Latin, but over time has come to mean deer meat in general.) I often use the meat as a change from beef in a winter's casserole. The wild venison my friends brought back from their expeditions was generally in chunks of unidentifiable geography, so casseroling was safest. I would marinate the meat in red wine with some aromatic herbs and then add onions and celery to the casserole. Venison tends to be a lean meat and the celery seemed to stop the it from turning out too dry.

Since deer have been farmed, there has been an abundance of more familiar cuts to choose from.

If you would like to know more about New Zealand Cervena, I recommend the website http://www.cervena.com.

Here is a recipe with accompaniments developed by Graham Brown, executive chef of the Cervena Council and International Culinary Olympic medal winner.

Rack of Cervena with Nut and Almond Crust
Serves 4

Cervena Rack
1kg rack of Cervena
375ml hazelnuts, 375 ml pistachio nuts, 375 ml cups almonds
2 egg yolks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Oil Sauce
1 small onion
3 tablespoons icy-cold butter
60ml red wine
180ml cup venison stock
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste sugar

Rosti (fried grated potatoes)
300g potatoes
150g zucchini
150g pumpkin
1 bunch parsley
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons clarified butter
150g shallots
1 1/2 tablespoons butter sugar

To prepare crust

1. Peel and finely chop onion, and saute in 1/2 tbs. butter.

2. Deglaze pan with red wine, and pour stock on onions. Allow sauce to be reduced by about half. Season to taste with salt, freshly ground pepper and a pinch of sugar.

3. Crush hazelnuts, pistachios and almonds finely. 4. Beat egg yolks, add salt and pepper. Brush Cervena with egg yolks, and roll in nut mixture. Repeat until rack is completely coated.

5. Place oiled Cervena in pan, and cover bones with foil to prevent burning.

6. Roast rack in preheated 2201/2 C oven for 25 minutes. Remove rack from oven while still rare or medium rare, thus ensuring a tender and juicy texture.

To prepare Rosti

1. Peel potatoes. Grate potatoes, zucchini and pumpkin. Chop parsley finely and blend with vegetables. Season mixture with salt and pepper, and strain.

2. Melt clarified butter. Form small cakes, and squeeze until mixture is almost dry.

3. Fry in clarified butter over medium heat until golden brown on both sides. Remove rack from oven, cover with foil, and allow to stand for about 10 minutes.

4. Peel shallots, cut into halves, and saute in butter for about five minutes. Spread sugar over shallots, and allow to caramelise. Season with salt and pepper. Cut remaining butter in small bits, add to sauce, stirring quickly.

To serve, cut Cervena (with bones in it) into slices, arrange with Rosti and shallots on four plates, and spoon sauce over it.