Chillin' with Chilindron

After searching the interwebs for a good venison stew recipe, I decided to go with one called "the ultimate wild game stew" by a blogger I enjoy following.  This stew is called chilindron, a Spanish recipe composed of roasted red peppers, tomatoes, onions, wine,  various herbs, and plenty of garlic and paprika.  The name of the stew is supposed to be borrowed from the name of the large heavy pot that it was cooked in.  Chicken or lamb is the most common protein, but apparently the recipe can accommodate a wide range of meats by varying the wine type involved.

I started by dicing and browning the meat.  I used some random cuts from a hind quarter of Queen Mother that I had bagged up and froze for stew.  After trimming out the silverskin and such I cut them in bits about an inch square and then browned them in olive oil in a large pan.

Venison always looks so awesome.

I removed the meat from the pan and added coarsely sliced onions and coated them well in the pan juices.
I then added chopped fresh mushrooms, minced garlic and bacon cut into squares of about an inch.  The recipe called for dried mushrooms but I couldn't find any on short notice.

This on its own would have been tasty :)

I then added the venison back to the pan and poured in a good bit of red wine and simmered it on high to reduce.  At this point the aroma was heavenly.

After reducing I removed this mixture to a large pot, and added the seasoning (paprika, rosemary, bay leaf) and beef broth, then set it on low to simmer away.

Too cute.  Bay leaf from my own tree, btw.

I let it bubble for a good four hours, turning it off before I went to bed (yeah, it was always destined for leftover status, but I find most stews are better that way).  I'm enjoying the results right now at lunchtime over some white rice, very delicious.  Its not nearly as spicy as I imagined it would be, but it does have a strong red pepper taste.  I'll most likely make this again when the hubby returns from his overseas trip to visit his family.  I gave some of it to a friend of mine who is a natural-born foodie, I'll be interested in his opinion.

Last peek before bed

LUNCH!