Upstart Pastry Chef ~Territory Management of a Genius Pâtisserie~ - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Special Dish of Venison and Walnuts

I head to the warehouse behind the house to gather ingredients for dinner.

It’s to make the special feast with walnuts as requested by Tina.

I entered the warehouse.

There, hung up, is the deer meat with its innards removed and pre-processed. This is the offering to the main village when going to the selection ceremony tomorrow, aged for two weeks since.

Even the main village can’t bear the burden of providing all the food for the festival gathering nearly two hundred people. That’s why they demand food contributions from each village.

For the offering, we can’t burden the villagers. So I go into the forest alone, utilizing magical enhancements to my physical abilities to hunt deer. A whole deer should satisfy Father’s expectations.

“It smells good. It’s aged well.”

Meat tastes much better when aged like this.

It’s just the right time to eat. I divide the aged deer meat into portions for Tina and me. It’s not stealing. It’s a proper check to ensure it’s well aged, a sort of taste test.

…It’s just pure chance that the best part happens to be the most delicious loin meat.

◇

Returning to the kitchen with the meat, Tina rushes over.

“Tina, I’m going to start cooking now. Can you help?”

“Yes, Kurt-sama!”

Tina, who rarely has the chance to eat raw meat rather than dried meat, shines with excitement at the sight of the deer meat.

It’s a rare treat. Let’s make sure she enjoys it.

“Can I ask for high heat?”

“Of course!
Flames surge up in the stove without even putting in firewood.

Recently, Tina has been using her flame magic to cook.

After all, it’s a convenient magic that doesn’t require firewood, keeps the stove clean, and makes it easy to control the heat. Now, I can’t imagine cooking without Tina.

With a good grasp of high heat, medium heat, and low heat, Tina adjusts the heat precisely with rough instructions.

I place a frying pan on the stove.

This frying pan was made by the two of us using sand iron collected with earth magic.

Iron cookware is still the best. It gets my blood pumping.

While warming the frying pan, I prepare the ingredients.

I slice the sinews of the deer loin meat to make it tender.

Then, I mix water and a little flour, and chop up some stored bread with a knife to make breadcrumbs.

I rub salt into the deer meat, dip it in the mixture of water and flour, then coat it with breadcrumbs. With this, the preparation is complete.

“Kurt-sama, the frying pan is getting hot.”

“Thank you.”

I return to the frying pan and pour walnut oil into it.

The sweet scent of walnut oil spreads throughout the room.

When heated, walnut oil emits this enchanting fragrance.

“Wow, it smells amazing.”

“We’re just getting started. Tina, set it to medium heat.”

“Yes, Kurt-sama!”

I place two pieces of prepared deer meat onto the frying pan with walnut oil.

They sizzle.

“You see, now you understand what I meant by ‘we’re just getting started,’ right?”

“Yes, I feel like I could be satisfied with just this aroma.”

The scent of deer meat oil melting and mixing with the aroma of walnut oil creates an even more delightful fragrance.

What I’m making is deer cutlet with a walnut flavor.

Deer meat is delicate and high in protein. Using animal fat would kill its flavor. But with the gentle flavor of walnuts, you can enhance the umami without overpowering the deer’s natural taste.

Once one side is fried, I flip the meat.

“Wow, it has such a beautiful color.”

Tina exclaims in admiration. The deer cutlet has turned into a beautiful fox-like color.

In no time, it’s cooked through and done.

The deer meat is intentionally sliced to about a centimeter thick. It’s the perfect thickness to balance the crispiness of the coating and the texture of the meat.

“Alright, it’s done. Now for the finishing touch.”

I plate two pieces of deer cutlet.

I prepare the finishing sauce. After taking out the walnut oil, I crush the walnuts, then add the juice of the sarunashi… the wild species of kiwi fruit that I picked today, and honey, and mix them together.

The sauce turned out pure white.

I drizzle the sauce over the cutlets. The white sauce complements the fox-colored cutlets nicely.

“It’s done. Venison cutlets with walnut sauce.”

A special dish where the light flavor of venison is complemented by walnut oil and walnut paste, with a sweet and sour rich sauce poured over it.

“Wow, it looks delicious. Let’s eat right away.”

“Yeah. I wonder if the fiddleheads I asked for are done boiling?”

“While you were getting the meat, Kurt-sama, I finished boiling them!”

“Excellent! Let’s dig in.”

“Yes!”

And so, we sit down at the table.

◇

“We thank the forest and the gods for providing us with today’s sustenance.”

After our usual prayer together, we start our meal.

On the table are the cutlets I made, boiled fiddleheads seasoned with salt, and a soup made from dried meat.

It’s a more luxurious spread than usual.

“Well then, let’s dig in.”

“Yeah, enjoy your meal.”

The cutlets are already sliced. Tina takes a piece and puts it in her mouth.

Crunch. That sound echoes.

Tina widens her eyes and chews.

Gulp. Her throat makes a big noise.

“Wow, this is amazing. I always thought deer meat was lacking in flavor because it never had enough oil, but it has such a rich taste.”

Tina becomes engrossed in the cutlet.

“Deer meat and walnuts go well together.”

The light meat and walnuts complement each other well. For example, if you put walnut sauce on pork, the pork and walnuts would clash and create a disastrous taste.

It’s precisely because of the protein-rich deer meat that it can embrace the bitterness and richness of the walnuts.

“And the acidity of this sauce lingers on, enhancing the flavor.”

“Sarunashi is a wild species of kiwi fruit with little sweetness and a strong acidity.

It’s not suitable for eating raw, but it’s perfect for adding acidity to dishes.

No matter how light the deer meat is, fried food can feel heavy. The acidity of the sarunashi clears that up. It will also come in handy for tomorrow’s sweets.

“More than anything, it’s wonderful that you can taste the walnuts properly! This is the first time I’ve had such delicious walnuts.”

“This dish is made to bring out the flavor of walnuts, so I made sure both the coating and the sauce have a strong walnut presence. Are you satisfied?”

“Yes, if I can eat such wonderful walnut dishes, I can endure waiting until the end of spring!”

I’m glad Tina is pleased.

I take a piece of cutlet myself. It’s quite well-made, if I do say so myself. I also reach for the boiled fiddleheads. Their gentle taste, like a mix between potatoes and chestnuts, pairs well with the deer cutlet.

I find myself eating effortlessly.

“Ah, what a feast.”

Tina finishes her portion in no time, her face relaxed and content.

“Thank you for the meal.”

Seeing Tina’s happy face, I feel content myself.

All the weariness in my heart for tomorrow’s duel seems to have healed.

I finish my portion after Tina, feeling satisfied.

It wasn’t just about making this cutlet today to fully enjoy the taste of walnuts.

It’s also a good omen.

A cutlet for the enemy. Well, it’s just a small comfort, but it’s not bad.

Afterward, I chat leisurely with Tina and then fall asleep holding her close.

It’s the night before the decisive battle.

It’s a situation where it wouldn’t be strange to be crushed by anxiety and tension. Yet, thanks to Tina, I was able to sleep soundly. Her warmth in my arms gave me strength.