Wild Rabbit and Mushroom Pie

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large wild rabbit

1 celery stalk, thinly sliced

1 carrot, roughly chopped

1 thyme sprig

250 ml white wine

1 litre chicken stock

½ leek, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

250 gm mixed mushrooms, such as Swiss brown and button mushrooms – nothing too strong as it will overtake the rabbit flavour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 egg

2 tbs milk

1 tbs sesame seeds

puff pastry sheets

2 cups dried lentils or rice for blind baking

Method

Pre heat oven to 200°C / 400°F

Joint the rabbit or keep it whole if you have a large enough pan and casserole dish.

Brown the rabbit with the oil in a frypan and then place in a casserole dish, or a pressure cooker if you have one.

Place in the carrot, celery, thyme, wine and chicken stock and cook in the oven for 2 hours – or in a pressure cooker for 40 mins

Remove once cooked and then pull/shred the rabbit meat off the bones while still in the liquid and place in a separate bowl. Pull out the celery and carrot and mash slightly then mix in with the rabbit meat.

Set aside and let cool completely.

In a frypan cook the onion in a little oil gently for 8 minutes, add the minced garlic and sliced leek and cook for another 2 minutes, add the chopped mushrooms and cook till most of the moisture has evaporated.

Set aside to cool and then add it to the rabbit mixture.

Line a pie dish with the defrosted puff pastry, cover with greaseproof paper and then place in the lentils or rice to blind bake.

To blind bake

Pre heat oven to 180°C / 360°F

Place the prepared pastry into the oven and cook for 10 minutes

Remove from the oven and then carefully remove the lentils / rice and greaseproof paper. return back to the oven and cook for another 15 minutes or till golden brown.

If you completely forget to blind bake your puff pastry, don’t worry. As you can see from my forgotten blind bake (hence no photos of the process!) It will still work, it will just have puffed up completely so you will need to squash it down so there will be broken bits. This will not affect the quality or ability to serve your pie.

Let the pastry cool for 30 minutes.

Spoon in the rabbit and mushroom mixture and then cover with puff pastry.

Cut a hole in the centre for steam to escape.

Make the egg wash by mixing the egg and milk together in a small bowl and brush over the pastry.

Sprinkle on the sesame seeds.

Cook in a 180°C / 360°F oven for 20 minutes or till golden and crispy.

Serve with a salad drizzled with a beautiful vinaigrette.