Reindeer Stew with mashed potatoes and lingonberries by Lysti

Ingredients:

• 750 g frozen reindeer stew meat (poronkäristys), whole frozen fillet is best, but readymade slices are ok as well
• 800 g (preferably Lapland) potatoes (Lapin puikulaperuna) or regular mashable potatoes
• Beer (1 bottle should be enough) or water
• Butter
• 2-3 dl cream
• Lingonberries
• (Garlic flavoured) pickled cucumbers
• Salt and pepper

Preparation:

1. Heat up a nice chunk of butter on a big pan (that has enough space for the whole stew and a lid for the simmering).

2. Slice thin slices of the frozen reindeer fillet and fry them in the pan as you slice them. If you have readymade slices, fry the slices on the pan only adding a little of the slices at a time to keep the temperature hot enough to fry the slices rather than boil them. Add more butter when needed.

3. When you have fried all of the slices, add some salt and pepper, more butter if needed (this dish can take a lot of butter), and enough beer to cover the meat (water can be used instead of beer, but the beer adds a nice flavor to the stew).

4. Lower the heat and let the stew simmer under a lid while you start to prepare the mashed potatoes. You can add some beer/water and butter if needed to keep the stew moist enough (rule of thumb: add enough liquid to keep the dish a stew, not a soup).

5. Heat up water (with some salt) for boiling the potatoes. Peel the potatoes and boil them until they are soft (you can dice the potatoes to cook them faster if you want).

6. Mash the potatoes (you can use some of the boiling water to create a nice smooth mash), add the cream and some butter to the mash. Check the taste and add some salt if needed. The goal is to have a nice smooth mash that can still hold together (not too running).

7. Check the taste of the reindeer stew. Add some butter or salt/pepper if needed.

8. Pile up potato mash on a plate, leaving a crater in the middle. Fill the crater with the reindeer stew. Add lingonberries on top of the stew. Add slices of pickled cucumber on the side. Enjoy!

(Reference-pictures from google image search)