Ingredients

• 2 ounces brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 2 large sweet potatoes, small diced
• 8 ounces smoked bacon, diced small
• 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cups spinach tough spines removed
• 4 (8 ounce) portions of venison loin
• 1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, leaves only

Directions

1. Add sugar and water in sauce pan. Bring to a boil to make syrup.
2. Place diced sweet potatoes in a medium skillet, pour syrup over top, and add 4 tablespoons of butter. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until tender.
3. Alternatively, place diced sweet potato and 4 tablespoons of butter in a casserole dish, drizzle syrup over, and cook in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 5 minutes or until tender. Set aside and keep warm.
4. In another nonstick skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until edges start to become golden brown. Chop, set aside and keep warm.
5. Season venison with salt and pepper to taste. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add venison and sear meat on all sides until golden brown.
6. Add 1 tablespoon butter and continue to cook until meat is medium-rare. Remove meat from heat and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut each piece into 3 slices.
7. To the skillet, add spinach and 2 tablespoons of butter, sauté lightly. Add bacon, sweet potato, and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat until warmed through. Scatter parsley over top.
8. Plate by placing a small pile of potato mixture just off-center on each of 4 plates. Fan venison slices across plate and drizzle any leftover pan juices on top of the meat.

About Richard Gibbs:

Growing up in New York City, Chef Richard Gibbs was exposed to various tastes and flavors of the street food in his neighborhood. Bodegas, cuchifritos, and aluminum pan restaurants provided him with the platform that is now his cuisine… upscale Afro-Latino Cuisine. Afro-Latino cuisine is a cuisine that is a culmination of African, French, Southern, Taino/Arawak, and Spanish cultures that creates a full, bold, dynamic flavor. Chef Gibbs is now developing his own restaurant, scheduled to open at the end of the year.