Roe deer with celeriac and blackberry

Method

Begin the sauce by gently sweating the shallots in a heavy-bottomed pan with 15ml olive oil until translucent, then deglaze with red wine and reduce by two-thirds. Add the stock, garlic, thyme and bay leaf, then simmer for 15 minutes. Strain through fine mesh and return to the pan, reducing gently to 200ml. Meanwhile, cut the celeriac into 1cm cubes, blanch in salted boiling water for 4 minutes until just tender, then pan-fry in 30g butter until golden; season with fleur de sel and set aside. Allow the venison to come to room temperature, pat completely dry, then season generously. Sear the loin in a very hot pan with 15ml olive oil for 90 seconds per side until deeply caramelised, creating a 2-3mm rare crust whilst maintaining a pink interior (internal temperature 48-50°C). Rest the meat for 5 minutes under foil. Finish the sauce by gently warming through and folding in 75 blackberries with 15g cold butter, whisking to emulsify without crushing the fruit. Slice the venison against the grain into three thick medallions per portion. Plate by arranging celeriac on the base, positioning the venison loin slices slightly overlapped, spoon blackberry sauce around the plate, garnish with microgreens and remaining fresh blackberries.