Venison Ragu

Finely dice the onion, carrots and celery and sweat them off over medium heat with oil in a large saucepan for 10 minutes until softened slightly
Mince the garlic and sweat it off with the rest of the vegetable for a further two minutes
Turn the heat up to high and add in the minced venison, breaking it up well with a wooden spoon and brown the meat very well
Add in the red wine to deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping well with a wooden spoon
Bring the wine to the boil and allow to reduce by half
Add in the stock, passata, dried oregano and bring to the boil once more, stirring well, and then reduce to a slow simmer
Wrap the bay leaf, juniper, and star anise in muslin and tie to secure – add this into the pan
Half cover the pan with a lid and allow to simmer for two to three hours, stirring occasionally to prevent the ragu sticking to the bottom of the pan
Once the ragu has cooked out and reduced to a thick, saucy consistency, fish out the muslin wrapped spices, and remove from the heat
To finish, finely mince the parsley and stir through the ragu
Season with salt and pepper to taste, if required
Serve with pasta such as pappardelle or linguine