Rabbit Pie

Ingredients - Start the day before, everything will taste better...

Serves 4

1 lemon
8 pitted prunes

1 x 1.4 kg rabbits - Jointed
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon freshly chopped sage
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

30g unsalted butter
1 large brown onion
3 tablespoons verjuice or a good white wine
2 Lemons

1 heaped tablespoon unbleached plain flour
1 heaped tablespoon butter (Butter makes it Better)
150ml chicken stock
3 slices pancetta
1 tablespoon freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley

(N.b You could make your own Pastry....or you could buy Puff Pastry - Suggestion By Luke Campbell - AC)

Method

1. Zest and juice the lemons. Put the prunes and lemon juice in a bowl with half the lemon zest and soak them overnight, or microwave on high for 2 minutes. Chop each reconstituted prune into 4 pieces.
2. Cut the front and back legs away from the rabbits and remove the kidneys and livers from the saddles. (Set the saddles aside for another dish). Put the rabbit legs, kidneys and livers into a flat glass dish with the remaining lemon zest and the olive oil, thyme, sage and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss and leave to marinate for a minimum of 1 hour. ( the Longer the better)
3. Melt 30g butter in a deep, heavy-based frying pan and cut the onion into 1/4's, and fry till lightly brown. Put aside. Gently seal the rabbit pieces in the same pan till they are a pale golden brown. Deglaze with the verjuice. Turn the heat down, then stand the pan on a simmer pad and simmer very gently for 20 minutes, with the lid slightly ajar.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and strain and set aside the rabbit pieces to rest for 30 minutes.
5. Make a paste (roux) with the flour and 1 heaped tablespoon of butter. Bring the reduced stock, with the juices from the rabbit, to a fast simmer and slowly whisk in the paste in small amounts to thicken the mixture. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
6. Roughly chop the pancetta and add these to a pan and cook with the roughly chopped kidneys and livers. (Secret ingredient) Remove from the heat and set aside.
7. Take the meat off the bones, by pulling the muscles apart and then chopping into pieces, 1.5 cm dice. Add to a bowl then add the prune mixture, the cooled roux, the parsley and salt and pepper, and the pancetta and finally the chopped livers and kidneys and toss all together.
8. Place 5 good spoonfuls of Mixture into each individual ceramic pie dishes and top with pastry. Brush pastry with a egg wash.
9. Cook in a preheated oven 180oC for 25mins or until pastry browns and enjoy!