Rabbit Pie... Shooting parties and Wild Fare!

Last weekend some friends, who own a neighbouring estate, invited us over for lunch. They served a rabbit pie, which Richard had made from a rabbit he shot the night before. It was delicious. Which got me to thinking: why had I never tried rabbit before?

Known to city folk as cute little cotton-tails, portrayed as victims in such classics as Watership Down; but known to farmers as marauding vermin who are at best a free meal, and at worst the destroyer of the crops which provide their livelihood; these little creatures, I must say, are incredibly under rated.

As Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall puts it:

If I described to you a meat that was low in fat, delicate in flavour and hugely versatile, would you be interested? If I added that it was inexpensive, usually sourced very locally, and subject to none of the serious welfare concerns that attach to so much of the flesh we eat, would I have closed the deal? Such a meat certainly does exist - in abundant supply. But very few of us eat it.

I'm talking about wild rabbit. And I really rate it. Portioned, on the bone, it's an excellent meat for stews or casseroles. Boneless and trimmed, it makes a nifty stir-fry. And minced, well-seasoned and mixed with a bit of good fatty sausage meat, it can be pressed into service as a fantastic burger, too.

So, I've copied the recipe from our hosts, and here it is to share with you now...

Rabbit, Prune, Bacon and Leek Pie

1 Rabbit (500g of meat)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
a little flour for dusting
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 leek, washed and trimmed and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
200g streaky bacon, chopped.
1 bay leaf
1 small bunch thyme
1 cup cider
500ml chicken stock
1 cup cream
a pinch of grated nutmeg
stlt and freshly ground black pepper
100g putted prunes, chopped
400g flaky pastry
1 whole egg, beaten

Dust the chopped meat with flour and add to the foaming hot butter and cook till lightly coloured on all sides. Set meat aside. Cook onions in meat pan for 3 mins without colouring. Add leaks and garlic and cook for 2-3 mins till leaks soften. Add bacon and bay leaf and thyme. Then return rabbit to the pan. Pour in the cider and stock and simmer gently for 40 mins. Remove meat and as much vegetable as possible, then reduce the stock by half on a high heat. Then add the cream and simmer for 15 mins. Sprinkle in nutmeg and add salt and pepper if necessary. When the meat is cool enough to handle, shred the meat from the bones and place it in a bowl. Place meat in a pie dish and sprinkle on the chopped prunes. Pour over the sauce and cool for 30 mins in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Roll out pastry to fit the pie dish, leaving 2 cm overhang. Dampen the edge of the dish with water and drape pastry over the top, then crimp the edges. Make a steam hole in the centre of the pastry. Brush with beaten egg and bake for 40 mins or until the pastry is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the filling comes out hot. Serves 6 (although, I suspect some rabbits may serve more....)