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There is still this hesitation. That hesitation to turn up the heat. A week ago we were reveling in warm summer nights, salads and cool rosé. And now I’m sneaking around my freezer because I know there’s another one Roast wild boar lies inside. And the prospect of a game goulash is a very warming and comforting thought. A stew in September. Sounds a bit crazy somehow. But why not?
The market was empty. Nobody wanted to go to the door. It was raining heavily. Finally time for a chat with the market people. In addition, there was also a partial power outage in the market. The mood wasn’t exactly great, the shopping list almost dissolved in my hand. But right now it was important to me to go to the market. After all, anyone who likes to go to the market does so even in bad weather. Celery, carrots, onions – everything you need for a warming stew is here. I couldn’t wait until the pot was finally on the stove and it was bubbling quietly inside. Lots of red wine was poured in. It smelled irresistible.
Of course, pasta with it makes you happy – but so does polenta. Most notably Polenta into which parmesan cheese was shaved. And because a stew like this tastes even better the next day, we had a double portion. After all, one look at the weather app is enough to know that things won’t get better until the middle of next week.
If you store venison or deer meat in the freezer instead of wild boar, now is a perfect time to take care of it.
Wild boar goulash with cheese polenta
For four
1 kg roast wild boar
1.5 tbsp flour for dusting
4 tbsp olive oil
5 cloves garlic, crushed with the back of a knife
1 thin stalk of leek, cut into rolls
1 large shallot, finely diced
2 carrots, diced medium fine
2 stalks of celery, cut into slices about 3mm wide
60 ml red wine vinegar
3 tbsp tomato paste
300 ml pureed tomatoes
700 ml strong Italian red wine (e.g. Nero d’Avola or Montepulciano)
1 tsp salt
4 sprigs of rosemary
4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon Aleppo chili
freshly ground black pepper
Polenta
125g polenta
1 level teaspoon sea salt
2 tbsp butter
400 ml water
200 ml milk
2 tbsp crème fraîche
50 freshly grated Parmesan
Trim the meat, cut into large cubes and season lightly with salt. Heat the olive oil in a cast iron pot, add the meat and sprinkle with the flour. Fry for 10 minutes (it may burn a little). Add the crushed garlic cloves, continue frying for 1 minute and deglaze with the vinegar. Add diced vegetables, tomato paste and pureed tomatoes. Turn the temperature down to medium and add the red wine. Add bay leaves, chili and rosemary sprigs.
Let simmer on low heat with the lid closed for about 2.5 hours. Season with a few drops of vinegar, salt and pepper.
The goulash can be prepared wonderfully the day before, as the flavors are even better distributed after it has rested for a while.
For the polenta, melt the butter in a saucepan, add water and salt and bring to the boil. Add the polenta, turn the temperature down to low and let it simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add milk, crème fraîche and parmesan. Let it steep for another 2 minutes.