Cot and spicy

“Vietnamese” Venison Salad with In Cot We Trust

500 gram venison joint

6 lime leaves
Handful fresh coriander
Handful fresh mint
1 carrot peeled and cut into thin matchstick sized pieces
1/4 cucumber peeled and cut into matchsticks
Watercress or peppery rocket
8 cherry tomatoes (halved)

Peanuts (optional)

Juice of 1 lime
1 ½ tb of chilli sauce
2 tb of fish sauce
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 red chilli deseeded and diced

Halve the chilli, deseed and shred the flesh finely. Put into the mixing bowl with the chilli sauce, fish sauce, sugar and lime juice. Whisk thoroughly with a fork to mix.

Destem and devein the lime leaves and shred them finely. Put them in a serving dish. Pick the coriander, mint and watercress (or rocket) and chop roughly. Add the carrot and cucumber matchsticks and cherry tomatoes. Mix together.

Liberally season the venison, heat a little oil in a frying pan and seal the joint on all sides. Then place on a roasting tray in a preheated oven at 200c for 18-20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it rest for a good five minutes. Slice the joint into thin strips and then toss them into the salad with the dressing and add some crushed peanuts if you wish. Serve immediately.

This salad has plenty of spicy poke, so I have could have gone down the route of all neutralising rosé, but instead opted for a chilled red. The new vintage of Puzelat’s In Cot We Trust has exchanged the barnyard, or one might say, feral, aromas of 2006 for an altogether more succulent youthfulness.  The colour is now bright, the nose speaks of violets, damsons and red plums, and, if there is earthiness, it is more the smell of an orchard after rain than humus.  Fresh acidity combined fruity tannins rides the helter-skelter of textures, spiciness, sweetness and meatiness; this Cot takes the lot and comes up smiling.

Tasted Sunday 23rd August

Calendar: Fruit day
Weather: High pressure - hot, dry and sunny
Other observations: Chilling for half an hour in the freezer got the wine to its optimum serving temperature. The resultant texture and coolness were soothing, but so was the juicy fruit which adeptly coped with the palatal yin and yangs of the salad.