Ingredients

• 2 sweet potatoes
• cleaned
• 2 x 180g/6oz venison loins
• trimmed
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 50g/1¾oz butter
• 50ml/2fl oz pomegranate molasses
• 2 ancho chilles
• cleaned
• 2 pasilla chilles
• cleaned
• 3 guajillo chilles
• cleaned
• ½ cinnamon stick
• 1 star anise
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 50g/1¾oz peanuts
• 50g/1¾oz almonds
• 50g/1¾oz sesame seeds
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion
• cut into chunks
• 2 garlic cloves
• crushed
• 1 red chilli
• chopped
• 2 tomatoes
• chopped
• little chicken stock
• 50g/1¾oz dark chocolate
• minimum 70% cocoa solids
• chopped
• salt and pepper
• 2 large tortillas
• 50g/1¾oz curd cheese
• 50g/1¾oz corn relish
• 100g/3½oz smoked cheese
• grated

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7. Bake the sweet potatoes until just cooked but firm. Peel and cut into thick rounds
• then set aside.
• Meanwhile
• for the mole
• place a dry frying pan over a high heat. Add the ancho
• pasilla and guajillo chillies and toast for 1-2 minutes
• until puffed up
• taking care not to burn them. Fill a bowl with hot water
• then drop in the chillies and leave to soak for 20-30 minutes before deseeding and chopping them.
• Return the dry frying pan to a high heat and toast the cinnamon
• star anise
• cumin seeds
• peanuts
• almonds and sesame seeds until aromatic. Grind in a pestle and mortar.
• Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a high heat. Add the onion
• garlic
• red chilli and tomatoes and cook until slightly charred. Add the hydrated chillies and cook for a few minutes. Tip the sauce into a blender and
• when almost smooth
• add the spice and nut mixture and a little chicken stock. Transfer to a saucepan
• bring to the boil
• then simmer for 2 minutes - you may need to loosen the sauce with some extra stock.
• Meanwhile
• heat an ovenproof frying pan over a high heat. Rub the venison all over with the olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Put in the pan
• add the thyme and roast in the oven for 6-8 minutes.
• Put the sweet potato slices on a baking tray
• add the butter and pomegranate molasses
• and roast for 5 minutes.
• For the quesadillas
• heat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Spread the tortillas with the curd cheese and then the corn relish. Top with the smoked cheese and then the second tortilla. Place in the pan and put a weight on top. Cook for 1 minute
• until it smells toasty
• then flip over and cook the other side while it’s weighted down. Remove from the pan and cut into eighths.
• Stir the chocolate into the mole. Carve the venison. Put sweet potato slices on the plates
• top with the venison and serve with the mole and quesadillas