Rolled Loin of Venison with Sweet Potato and Sweet and Sour Onions

Rostis. I never quite seem to get the hang of them.

There seem to be a myriad ways of cooking them. Take the basic potato rosti, for example. Do you boil the potato first? Par-boil it? In it's skin? Whole? Do you then mix it with clarified butter, or do you squeeze all the water out first? Do you pan-fry it? Do you oven-roast it? Do you set it in a ring mould to get the shape or do you cook it in one of those dinky little round frying pans that seem perfectly rosti/fried egg size?

So many questions, so little time, and do you know what? Mine seem to have a habit of falling apart after the first turn. You know, the one when you've taken the cooking ring off to turn it, it goes a bit lop-sided, some of it sticks to the bottom of your supposedly non-stick pan and you end up with a potato splat rather than a piece of Swiss sophistication. So this time, I gave up - and yes, if I'm frank, I did start out with rosti in mind, but what I ended up with was easier and just as delicious. It saved me all the palaver and meant I could cook this for a crowd if needs be. Delicious savoury venison from just down the road with some oh so sweet and sour onions, and you've got a dinner to dream about...

Rolled Loin of Venison with Sweet Potato and Sweet and Sour Onions - Serves 2

• 2 boned and rolled pieces of loin venison, about 5oz each
• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1 red onion, halved and sliced into thin rings
• 50mls white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and cut into quarters
• Pinch cumin seeds
• sea salt flakes and ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Pop the sugar and vinegar in a non-reactive saucepan with the spices and chilli and bring to the boil. Add the onions and boil for a few minutes until the onions become slightly translucent and the liquid slightly syrupy. Set aside to cool. You could do this a day in advance if you wanted.

Pre-heat your oven to 180C. Grate the sweet potato - I used a food processer for this. Fry the sweet potato over a medium heat for about ten or fifteen minutes until soft and dark in places. Spread it in a thin layer in an oven-proof dish and pop in the oven. Get the pan really hot, season the venison on both sides and fry for a few minutes. Turn and cook for a further few minutes (or until cooked to your liking). Set aside to rest. Deglaze the pan with the last of the syrup from the onions. It will bubble ferociously. Turn out the heat. Spoon some of the sweet potato onto the plate; pop a piece of venison on top, spoon over a few lovely pink onions and drizzle over the pan juices. Delicious - sweet, sour and savoury.

To follow Will's food adventures, please visit: theboydonefood.blogspot.com