Tunisian Venison Tangine with toasted almonds

One of the unexpected perks of getting married was that I got on the subscription list for a magazine call The Nest. It's a great lifestyles magazine with all sorts of tips on home and life. In the Winter 2008 (page 59) I came across an interesting looking recipe, but I wasn't sure I'd make it because it contained many, many ingredients that Rick doesn't like. But when he said it looked good, I went to the store.

This was one of the tastiest dishes I've made yet. I served it for some friends, and everyone went nuts for it. Definitely make this one!

The original recipe calls for lamb. The only thing I changed from the recipe is that I did not brown the meat first...venison is so lean that I find if I brown meat that's going into a slow cooker it comes out too tough. So, if you make this with lamb, you brown the lamb and then brown the veggies in the same skillet.

Tunisian Venison Tangine
1 lb venison, cubed
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbs virgin olive oil
5 parsnips, peeled and cut in chunks
2 large sweet potato, peeled and cut in chunks
1/2 cup celery, cut into 1-inch slices
2 medium onions, cut in 1 inch cubes
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs cumin, ground
1 tbs coriander, ground
1/2 tsp allspice, ground
1 1/2 cups beef broth
15 oz diced tomatoes, with juice
1 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
1 3-in stick cinnamon
1 dried red chili pepper
1/4 cup almonds, toasted and ground
juice and zest from 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Season venison with salt, put in slow cooker

2. Heat olive oil in skillet. Saute parsnips, sweet potatoes, celery and onion until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in garlic, cumin, coriander and allspice. Cook until vegetables are coated, about 1 minutes. Put vegetables in slow cooker

3. Put broth in skillet and bring to boil. Pour into slow cooker, including scrapings from pan.

4. Add tomatoes, black pepper, cinnamon stick and chili pepper to cooker. Cover and cook 6 to 8 hours on low, until fork tender.

5. Mix toasted almonds with lemon juice and zest in small bowl.

6. When stew is done, remove cinnamon stick and chili pepper. Stir in almond mixture and cook on high until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.

7. Serve stew on a bed of couscous and sprinkle with chopped parsley.