Tovar Cerulli on Being A Mindful Carnivore

Thought About Food Podcast

We spoke with Tovar Cerulli about his journey from someone who unreflexively ate what he grew up eating, to a vegan, to someone who tries to mindfully eat animal products and even hunts and fishes. We also discuss justifications versus reasons, the importance of knowing how things we use and depend on come to us, the importance of mindfulness, and how groups (like hunters and vegans) react to perceived marginalization. Also there's the first wild game recipe in the history of the podcast! Check it out in the show notes.

Show Notes:

• Follow us on Twitter at @FoodThoughtPod, and you can drop us a line at ThoughtAboutFood on Gmail. Rate our podcast and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts! It helps people find the show.
• Tovar Cerulli is a vegan-turned-hunter who has worked as a public speaker, consultant, and collaborative thinking partner. He is committed to building bridges and understanding across ideological and cultural differences, especially as they relate to food and the larger-than-human natural world.
• Tovar's book is The Mindful Carnivore: A Vegetarian’s Hunt for Sustenance
• Tovar shared a recipe with us that uses ground venison; it's certainly the first recipe on the podcast for game you hunted! Tovar says:
  "We'll be talking, at least in part, about hunting, so I have to share a venison recipe. I considered sharing a recipe for Venison Steak Diane, both because it's a favorite and because—whatever the actual origins of the dish and name—"Diane" always makes me think of Diana or Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.

  Instead, I landed on a simpler recipe that I put a small twist on. One winter day a year or two ago, I was assembling a cottage pie and decided it needed a little spicing up, so I swapped out a few of the seasonings for some curry powder. That moment of inspiration transformed a somewhat bland dish into something extraordinarily savory. It turns out that many similar recipes already exist but I'm grateful to have stumbled onto it myself.

  I make this with venison, of course, but I'm sure wonderful vegetarian or vegan versions could also be created.

  Curried Venison Cottage Pie

  1 lb. ground venison
  Olive oil
  1 onion, minced
  1/4 t. salt
  2 t. curry powder (more if you prefer spicy over savory)
  1 c. stock (venison, chicken, beef, or vegetable)

  3 medium potatoes, cubed
  3/4 c. milk
  Paprika

  4 T. butter
  2 carrots, sliced
  2 celery stalks, sliced
  1/4 lb. mushrooms, sliced
  1 c. frozen peas

  In a pot or skillet, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Brown the ground venison and set aside. Add a bit more oil to the pot, plus the onion, salt, and curry powder, and saute for several minutes, stirring regularly, until the onion turns translucent. Add the browned venison back to the pot, mix thoroughly, then add the stock and simmer until the liquid is nearly gone.

  While the curried venison is simmering, boil and drain the potatoes, then mash with one tablespoon of butter and the milk. In another pot or skillet, melt two tablespoons of butter and saute the carrots, celery, and mushrooms, adding the peas at the end.

  Pour the curried venison into a casserole dish. Layer on the vegetables. Then spread the mashed potatoes over the top, dot with the remaining butter, and sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 375F for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

  Enjoy! Perfect for a cold winter evening."

• The intro and outro music is "Whiskey Before Breakfast" which is both a great traditional song and something that can be enjoyed mindfully. It was performed and shared by The Dan River Ramblers under a Creative Commons license.