In anticipation of La Motte’s Evening of Vintage Wine & Venison on 18 August, we would like to share a recipe for Game Pie from our Cape Winelands Cuisine Cookbook.

The traditional method for making game pie by stewing the game with marrowbones and/or strips of unsmoked pork/bacon (spek) or mutton tail fat and a combination of spices- such as cloves, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, coriander, pepper, nutmeg, and bay leaves, and brown sugar, vinegar and wine- is still in use today, in the Cape Winelands. In the original recipe bacon could be substituted for marrow for added richness. Some cooks prefer to add herbs such as thyme, sage and rosemary.

Do serve it with a glass of our 2012 La Motte Syrah!

Game Pie Recipe

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 kg venison shoulder or leg, cubed

200 g smoked bacon, cut into thin strips

3 cups (750 ml) good quality dry red wine

1 tsp (5 ml) ground cinnamon

6 whole cloves (wrapped in a muslin bag)

¼ tsp (1 ml) ground ginger

Pinch of saffron (optional)

2 Tbsp (30 ml) lambs tail fat, lard or oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 onion, chopped

1 cup (250 ml) dried peaches

2 Tbsp (30 ml) tamarind, dissolved in 1 cup (250 ml) water of 1/4 cup (60 ml) vinegar

2 Tbsp (30 ml) brown sugar

8 cups (2 litres) venison, beef or lamb stock or water

1 buttermilk pastry (please see below*)

Milk, for brushing

Freshly ground sea salt

Placed the pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll out 2 cm thick to the size of the casserole pot. Place on top of the meat, covering the whole surface. Alternatively you can make little balls of pastry and place them tightly next to each other on top of the meat.

Brush the surface with the milk and sprinkle with feshly ground sea salt. Bake for about 45 minutes until golden brown.