Medallions of venison loin with celery puree

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 2 shallots
• 2 tbsp butter
• 125 ml vegetable broth or stock
• 125 ml white wine
• 700 g venison (back)
• 12 slice(s) Bacon, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp butter
• 500 g celeriac
• 300 ml cream
• salt and pepper
• 2 juniper berries
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 2 tbsp Marsala
• nutmeg

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour

nice autumn or Christmas dinner

First, make the thyme sauce by peeling and finely dicing the shallots, then sautéing them in butter until translucent. Add the stock and wine and reduce by half. Crush the juniper berries, pick and chop the thyme leaves. Add to the sauce along with the Marsala, simmer for 10 minutes, and then strain through a sieve. Keep warm. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F). Cut the venison loin into 12 medallions, wrap them with the bacon slices, securing them with toothpicks if desired, or, better yet, tie them with kitchen string. Season with salt and pepper, and sear briefly and vigorously on both sides in the hot butter. Continue cooking in the oven for about 12-15 minutes. For a thickness of 1.5 cm, 10 minutes may be sufficient (just do the pressure test or cut a small cut). For the celeriac puree, peel the celeriac root (cut off the top and bottom caps to give the root stability, then use a large knife to slice off the skin piece by piece from top to bottom, turning the root a little at a time). Cut into fine cubes and bring to a boil with the cream, adding a little water if necessary, but only a little. Cook for 10 minutes until buttery soft, stirring frequently. Then puree the mixture and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Place a dollop of celeriac puree in the center of a large, preheated plate, place two medallions on top, and drizzle with the sauce. Decorate with fresh thyme sprigs and serve hot.