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Rabbit Pie

This is one of Paul's favourite pub dishes. It’s a shame that rabbit pie is almost extinct from pub blackboards.

Paul's rabbit pie is actually a casserole, that he transfers at the last minute, before serving, into a piecrust.

One of the frustrations with home cooked rabbit pie is that is great in the middle of the dining table with sharing bowls of veg for everybody to dive into - works great at home but doesn’t present well at the pub (or restaurant).

By casseroling the filling and blind baking the piecrust and lid, we can control perfectly the look and taste of the dish.

Serves 4-6
2 fresh rabbits, jointed and boned
Seasoned flour
Olive oil
150g streaky bacon lardons
Tbsp thyme flowers
Malden salt, freshly ground black pepper
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, peeled, coarsely chopped
2 sticks celery, coarsely chopped
1 medium leek, washed, cut into 1cm rings
350ml white wine
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
350ml chicken stock or rabbit stock or vegetable stock

Preheat oven to 165°C/330°F/Gas 3. Cut the pieces of jointed and boned rabbit meat into 3cm chunks and shake them in a plastic bag of seasoned flour.

Heavy based casserole on the hob, moderate heat with a splash of olive oil. Add the bacon and slowly render the fat from the bacon taking care not to brown the bacon.

Remove the rabbit from the flour bag, knock off any excess flour. Slowly, gently brown the meat with the lardons in their rendered bacon fat and olive oil.

When browned, remove lardons and rabbit from the pot – use a slotted spoon. Reserve on a plate.

In the same, uncleaned pot, add all the vegetables and over a moderate heat, gently slowly and carefully brown the vegetables. You may need to add a little more olive oil. Sieve into the sweating vegetables 2 tbsp of the seasoned flour from the plastic bag. Quickly and evenly stir the flour through the vegetables using a wooden spoon.

Return rabbit to pot with the vegetables, add the wine – letting it sizzle and bubble for one minute to steam off the alcohol. Add the stock, thyme and bay, bring to simmer, place lid on the casserole and put it in the preheated oven for 1 hour.

After an hour, remove the casserole from the oven; pour through a colander, reserving the stock.

Reserve the cooled rabbit & vegetables. Return stock to pot and reduce over a moderate heat. Stir in the Dijon mustard, adjust the seasoning, add the cream, then return rabbit and vegetables to pot.

To serve. Cut the blind baked pastry base and lid into portions. Spoon the casserole over the pie base and top with the crust.

Turnip and buttermilk mash

Ingredients:
1lbs turnips, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
2lsb boiling potatoes, peeled, cut into 2 inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tbsp chopped chives
1 cup buttermilk

Cook potatoes & turnips in salted boiling water for 15-20 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and turnips, return to pot and add butter and mash well.
Add the buttermilk and mash until smooth
Season with salt & pepper
Sprinkle with fresh chives

Raspberry Millefeuille (as made by Bake Off winner Nadia)

This get ahead pudding means you can enjoy your main course knowing nothing remains to be done.

Ingredients

375g block of puff pastry
1oz plain flour
375ml whole milk
4 medium egg yolks
75g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
300g fresh raspberries
Icing sugar to dust

Pre-heat oven to 200 deg, cut pastry in half into two rectangles.
Transfer pastry to baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden and well risen.
Meanwhile, make the vanilla filling by heating milk in a pan until nearly boiling, take off heat.
Put yolks, sugar & flour into a bowl & beat with wooden spoon until smooth.
Slowly pour hot milk into mixture, stirring constantly. Return to pan over heat and stir until mixture thickens. Take off heat and stir in the vanilla.
Put cooked pastry rectangles on board and slice each half horizontally, choose neatest 3 to use for dessert.
To assemble, pipe or spoon half vanilla filling over each, then other half with raspberries.
Carefully stack one layer at a time. Dust with icing sugar and serve.