Venison Cobbler with Cheddar & Rosemary Scones

A cobbler consists of savoury or sweet filling, with soft scones baked on top of it. We particularly like this one from Great British Chefs, which pairs rich game meat with a soft cheese scone topping. The ultimate autumn comfort food!

20 minutes prep, 2 hours cook

Serves 6

Ingredients

For the cobbler:

Rapeseed oil, for frying

1 onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, finely sliced

2 celery sticks, sliced

2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

200g of smoked pancetta

1kg of diced venison

2 tbsp of plain flour

200g of button mushrooms, halved

6 juniper berries, crushed

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 sprig of rosemary

2 bay leaves

200ml of port

300ml of red wine

300ml of beef stock

1 tbsp redcurrant jelly

1 orange, zested

For the scones:

450g of self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting

1 tbsp of baking powder

120g of unsalted butter

2 tbsp of rosemary leaves, finely chopped

150g of mature cheddar, finely grated

350ml of whole milk

1 egg, beaten

Method

Place a large ovenproof dish over a medium heat and add a splash of oil. Once hot, add the onion, garlic, celery, carrot, pancetta and a pinch of salt and cook for 10 minutes until softened, then use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate. Turn the heat up under the dish and add another splash of oil.

Dust the venison in flour and season well with salt and pepper. Working in batches, brown the venison all over in the casserole dish, transferring each batch to the bowl with the softened vegetables as you work. When all the venison is browned, tip the vegetables and meat back into the dish, along with the mushrooms, juniper berries, herbs and port. Bring to a simmer, then continue to cook until the port has reduced by half.

Add the wine, then reduce by half again. Pour in the beef stock with the redcurrant jelly and orange zest, then leave to simmer uncovered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, make the scones. Place the flour, baking powder, a pinch of salt and the butter in a food processor and pulse until it has the consistency of wet sand. Add the rosemary and three-quarters of the cheese, pulse again until just combined, then start adding the milk bit by bit, pulsing as you go, until a dough starts to clump together (you may not need to use all the milk). Bring the dough together into a ball. Place into a bowl, cover and leave to rest for 20 minutes in the fridge.

Preheat an oven to 170°C/ Fan 150°C/ Gas 3. Once rested, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out until around 3.5cm thick. Use a 7cm round cutter to stamp out the scones. Brush the tops of each scone with beaten egg then sprinkle over the remaining cheese.

Place the scones on top of the stew (any extra scones can be placed on a separate tray) and transfer to the oven. You may want to place a tray underneath as the stew might bubble up over the sides during cooking. Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until the scones are golden on top. The rich flavour of the stew contrasts perfectly with the fluffy scones.