It is two years to the day since I had one of my favourite days EVER, going on the Vera tour in Northumberland. For those who don’t know, Vera is a British TV show featuring the fabulous curmudgeonly TV detective, Vera Stanhope.
I am so obsessed with Vera that I recently woke from a very vivid dream where I was getting married to Brenda Blethyn. My husband called me Mrs Blethyn for a while after that. This morning when I told him I’d managed to find the photo of her venison and blueberry dish, which I thought I’d lost, his comment was, “Oh, your wife WILL be pleased.”
Brenda’s recipe is at the very bottom of this post, but first, I have to share some pix of my trip to the spectacular locations seen in the show.
It was my beloved chum Caroline Frick who introduced me to the splendour of Vera and when she said she was planning to fly from Austin, Texas JUST to go on the Vera tour, there was no way she was going without me. I bought us hats.
As we waited for the minibus to pick us up at the hotel, I nipped into Starbucks and when asked my name for scribbling on the cup, I said Vera, just to amuse Caroline when I emerged…
If you are a Vera fan, I cannot recommend this escapade highly enough, we had an absolute blast. Here we are laughing our heads off at Dunstanburgh Castle.
LOOK – us on the causeway that leads to Vera’s house on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne!
LOOK, us outside Vera’s house!
There were so many glorious moments on this day, and I took copious notes in a notebook that I can no longer find now that two years have passed, but the thing that sticks in my mind is the phrase WOMBAT IN A BARREL.
Our tour guide Anna was utterly brilliant. She was so funny and knowledgeable about Vera, the Northumberland countryside and local history. We learned loads Our driver was lovely too, and as Caroline had booked us a private tour there were just the four of us, mucking about all day long in the splendour of Northumberland. IT WAS GLORIOUS!
Anna naturally had a hat too, and here’s Caroline and Anna doing a brief Vera impression outside her house…
and here’s Brenda’s recipe, my photo is terrible, but the dish is good!
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 125g/4½oz blueberries
- 3 tbsp white wine or sherry
- pinch sugar
- ½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp butter
For the venison
Method
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For the sauce, set aside 4-6 blueberries for garnish and place the remaining blueberries in a small heavy-based pan with the wine or sherry and sugar.
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Simmer over a low heat for about ten minutes, until the blueberries reach a mushy consistency. Add the vinegar, orange juice and salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Stir in the butter and keep the sauce warm.
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While the sauce is simmering, prepare the venison. In a frying pan, melt the butter and oil over a medium heat and add the venison to the pan. Fry the venison for 3-5 minutes on each side, until cooked to your liking. Leave the venison to rest in a warm place for at least five minutes before serving.
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Place the venison steaks on two plates, spoon over the sauce and garnish with the remaining blueberries. Serve straight away
Serves 2
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8 responses
Oh that looks so fun! And how could anyone forget the phrase “wombat in a barrel”?
Haha – it is so true A! It was something to do with a man who worked at the museum in Newcastle in the Victorian era I think, a colleague in Australia sent him a wombat in a barrel and having no idea what one looked like in the wild, it was stuffed in a way that it never would be in real life – I am imagining on hind legs like a meerkat! I think I am going to have to go on the tour again to find out the REAL story – the memory does play tricks… x
Haha! I love it! That story would make sense, but if you find out it’s different, I’d love to know. It’s not everyday that one sends or receives small marsupials in a barrel. 😀
I would love to receive a small marsupial in a barrel!
Oh that looks so fun! And how could anyone forget the phrase “wombat in a barrel”?
Haha – it is so true A! It was something to do with a man who worked at the museum in Newcastle in the Victorian era I think, a colleague in Australia sent him a wombat in a barrel and having no idea what one looked like in the wild, it was stuffed in a way that it never would be in real life – I am imagining on hind legs like a meerkat! I think I am going to have to go on the tour again to find out the REAL story – the memory does play tricks… x
Haha! I love it! That story would make sense, but if you find out it’s different, I’d love to know. It’s not everyday that one sends or receives small marsupials in a barrel. 😀
I would love to receive a small marsupial in a barrel!