WE SERVE the sauce in this recipe with venison and also with young wild boar. It is suitable for any other kind of game as well.

To serve two:



1-11/4 pounds young boar or venison steak
Butter, salt, pepper
1 pound chestnuts in their shells, or canned chestnuts packed in brine
Milk
Water
1 stalk of celery
Pinch of sugar
2 1/2tablespoons MEAT JELLY or substitute
2 tomatoes
3 tablespoons brandy
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon tomato paste
Thinly sliced white bread, optional

TRIM A piece of young boar or venison steak suitable for panfrying, and salt and pepper it. In a heavy skillet, heat well a generous lump of butter, and brown the steak in it, on both sides, until it is almost but not quite done; it will be cooked further in the sauce. Remove the steak from the skillet, carve it, and keep it warm. In advance, prepare the ingrédients for the sauce so that they will be at hand when the steak is ready.

With a sharp knife, slash a cross in the shells of the chestnuts on the flat side of each nut. Plunge them into boiling water for a few moments, then scoop them out a few at a time with a small strainer, and peel off both the shells and the skins that cover the nuts. If this is done while the nuts are hot, it is not difficult.

Put the chestnuts in a heavy saucepan and add a mixture of 1 part milk and 2 parts water, enough liquid to cover them well. Add the celery and a good pinch of - sugar, and simmer the chestnuts, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are tender. Then, with a slotted spoon, remove them to another small heavy saucepan, and add the MEAT JELLY, or substitute. Over moderate heat, let the chestnuts caramelize lightly, and keep them warm.*

* If prepared chestnuts in brine are used, they must be of the best quality. They need only to be heated in the water-and-milk mixture before they are drained and put to glaze in the MEAT JELLY.

Wash the tomatoes, cut them into pieces, and simmer them over moderate heat with a lump of butter and salt and pepper. Cook until they are soft and reduced but do not let them brown. Force the tomatoes through a fine sieve, and set aside.

When the steak is carved, pour off all the butter from the pan in which it was cooked. The butter may now be used to fry the bread, first cut into strips or triangles, if you wish to garnish the platter with croutons.

Return the carved meat to its skillet, and place over high heat. Pour the brandy over the meat, touch it with a lighted match, and shake the pan until the flames die out. Then stir in the cream, the strained tomatoes, and the tomato paste, and salt and pepper lightly. Bring the sauce to a boil, then simmer it gently, stirring occasionally.

You may now remove the meat to a hot serving platter and keep it warm, or let it remain a little longer in the sauce if you feel it needs further cooking. In any case, the sauce is ready when it is somewhat reduced and begins to thicken. It may be thinned with a little water and cream if it thickens too rapidly, and seasoned again accordingly.