Venison Tenderloin with Potato Dumplings

Giant gnocchi act as little pillows for venison medallions drizzled with a bright, herby salsa verde.

Drink Pairing: Argentinian Malbec Wine

Ingredients Serves: 2-4

  • 1 Venison Tenderloin
  • ½ C Low Salt Chicken Stock
  • ¼ C Red Wine
  • ½ t Sherry Vinegar
  • 3 T Unsalted Butter
  • 1 T Canola or Grapeseed Oil
  • Salt
  • Potato Dumplings:
  • ½ C Cake Flour
  • 3 Egg Yolks
  • 1 pound Russet Potatoes
  • 1 t Salt
  • Salsa Verde:
  • 1 t Raisins
  • 1 t Sherry Vinegar
  • 6 Almonds
  • ¼ t Anchovy Paste
  • ½ C Fresh Italian Parsley with stems
  • ¼ C Fresh Cilantro with stems
  • Pinch of Red Chile Flake
  • ½ cup + 3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Lemon Zest to Taste
  • Salt & Pepper to Taste

Instructions

1

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2

Poke all the russet potatoes repeatedly with a fork. Roast them in the oven for an hour and a half.

3

Remove the potatoes from the oven and when they’re cool enough to handle cut open the skins and scrape out the inner flesh. Run this through a potato ricer or a food mill.

4

Mix the potatoes with the egg yolks and salt until well combined. Very gently mix in a quarter cup of the cake flour.

5

Pour the dumpling dough out on to a counter or cutting board floured with the remaining cake flour and gently roll it into a cylinder (approximately two inches thick). Slice it into ½” thick medallions, patting them with some of the flour.

6

Trim the silverskin from the tenderloins

7

Tie a series of loops of butcher’s twine around the tenderloin, pulling each one taut to compact the meat and pull any trailing pieces into the body of the tenderloin. Season it with salt & pepper.

8

Blend together all the salsa verde ingredients in a blender.

9

Optional: Pour the sauce into a fine mesh strainer above a bowl and let the oil drip out. Do not press on the herb mixture, you want the oil to be nice & clear.

10

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the dumplings in batches, simmering until they float to the surface.

As each dumpling floats, remove it from the water with a slotted spoon.

11

Melt two tablespoons of the butter in a wide frying pan. Cook until the butter has stopped foaming, then add the boiled dumpling.

12

Cook the dumplings until they’re browned on one side, then flip them, remove the pan from the heat, and sprinkle them with a little salt.

13

Get the canola/grapeseed oil hot in a different large skillet/frying pan over high heat. Add the tied tenderloin and sear it on all sides to an internal temperature of 125-130°F (rare-medium rare).

If you’re concerned about reaching the right doneness without overcooking the outside of the tenderloin, you can move it to a 400°F oven after a quick sear and roast it the rest of the way.

14

Remove the tenderloin from the pan, cut the twine off, and let it rest, loosely covered with foil.

15

Deglaze the pan you cooked the tenderloin in with the stock & red wine. Add the juices from the resting plate and simmer the mixture down to about a quarter cup of liquid.

Take the pan off the heat and swirl in the remaining tablespoon of butter and sherry vinegar.

16

Slice the tenderloin into medallions, and put one medallion on top of each dumpling on plates.

17

Top each medallion with some of the salsa verde and some of the pan sauce.