Venison and Squash Tagine

A warming venison and squash tagine packed with fragrant spices, chickpeas and tender dried fruit. Marinated venison is slow-cooked with sweet squash, onions and a rich blend of smoked paprika, cumin, coriander and cinnamon for a comforting one-pot meal with plenty of depth.
Venison is leaner than beef, so use a slow-cooking cut such as shoulder, neck or diced haunch, avoid over-browning it, and check it earlier to prevent drying out.

Ingredients — serves 6

  • 1 kg venison shoulder, neck or stewing meat, cut into 4 cm pieces
  • 3 medium onions
  • A bunch of coriander, leaves picked and chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 5 cm piece fresh ginger, roughly chopped
  • 5 cm piece fresh turmeric, roughly chopped, or 2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 3 tsp sweet smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon, optional
  • ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
  • 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • Oil or fat for cooking
  • 600 ml chicken or vegetable stock
  • 750 g squash, such as butternut, acorn or kabocha, deseeded and peeled
  • 2 × 400 g tins chickpeas or butter beans, drained and rinsed
  • 12 dried prunes, apricots or figs, halved
  • Juice of ½ lemon, or to taste
  • Sea salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Put the venison in a large bowl. Roughly chop one onion and blend it with the coriander, garlic, ginger, turmeric, spices, 3 tbsp olive oil and a generous pinch of salt until fairly smooth but still textured.
  2. Spoon the marinade over the venison and massage it in thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
  3. Remove the venison from the fridge and scrape the excess marinade back into the bowl. Let the meat come to room temperature for 20–30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 140°C/120°C fan/Gas 1.
  4. Cut the remaining onions into wedges. Heat a little oil or fat in a flameproof casserole over medium-high heat. Brown the venison in batches, taking care not to cook it through. Transfer it to a plate.
  5. Lower the heat, add the onion wedges and fry for 5–8 minutes, until lightly golden.
  6. Return the venison to the pot, stir in the reserved marinade and pour in the stock. Bring just to the boil, then reduce to a very gentle simmer. Cover and cook in the oven for 1½–2 hours, checking after 1½ hours. The venison should be tender but not dry.
  7. Cut the squash into chunky 5 cm pieces. Remove the lid and stir in the squash, chickpeas or beans, and dried fruit. Add a splash of water if needed so everything is partly covered.
  8. Cover and return to the oven for 35–50 minutes, until the squash is tender and the venison is meltingly soft.
  9. Stir gently, season with salt and pepper, and add lemon juice to taste. Serve with brown rice or wholegrain couscous and greens.
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