Preparation of hare with baby leeks and quince

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Roasted saddle, braised leg and shoulder of hare comes served with quince purée, baby beetroots, pickled turnips and red wine essence in this challenging Michelin two star dish. The dish is finished with wood sorrel, hazelnut vinaigrette and a rich game sauce. Fabulous for an ambitious dinner party.

Recipe by Raymond Blanc, chef patron and Gary Jones, executive head chef.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Rack of hare

Marinated hare 1

Marinated hare 2

Hare sauce

Bacon wrapped saddle

Hazelnut beurre noisette vinaigrette

Pickled wild mushrooms

Quince slices and purée

Red wine essence

Equipment

  • Fine sieve
  • Sterilised jars
  • Blender
  • Vac pac maker
  • Water bath

Method

1
For the hare sauce, roast the bones in the oil until evenly coloured. Caramelise the onion, carrot, leek, and celery gently in 50g of butter with the thyme and bay leaf
2
Gently sweat the shallots in 10g of butter, turn up the heat and brown lightly. Add the mushrooms and 50g of butter and continue to cook until any moisture evaporates and they are caramelised
3
Bring the stock, cream, alcohol and vinegar reductions to the boil, skim and begin to reduce
  • 750ml of brown chicken stock
  • 750ml of red wine
  • 75ml of cream
  • 50ml of red wine vinegar
4
Add half the bones and continue cooking for 20 minutes. Pass through a fine seive. Bring back to a simmer, adding the remaining bones. Simmer for 10 minutes and add the tarragon. Sieve then season
5
For the marinated hare 1, reduce the wine by 1/3. Pour the hot reduced wine on top of the vegetables, garlic, thyme and bay leaf. Allow to cool
6
Place the legs and shoulders into the wine. Cool and marinade overnight. When ready, remove from the marinade and allow to drain
7
For the marinated hare 2, heat the butter until foaming and caramelise the marinated shoulders and legs slowly. Season with pepper. Bring the red wine jus to the boil
8
Pour the jus over the shoulder and legs. Put into vac pac bags together. Cook in a water bath at 70°C for 4 hours until tender. Alternatively, slowly braise in the oven in a Le Creuset dish
9
For the bacon wrapped loin, lay the pancetta slices on cling film, overlapping them slightly. Cover with another layer of cling film. Gently roll with a rolling pin to ensure the slices are very thin and flat
10
Rest in the fridge. Place the loins together on the pancetta. Sprinkle with the juniper powder and roll it up in the pancetta. Form a tight neat cylinder and wrap tightly in cling film, twisting the ends. Rest in the fridge until required
11
Poach at 55°C for 25-30 minutes. Remove the cling film and drain. Heat the butter until it browns then colour and crisp the outside of the loin. Season. Rest in a warm place with the aromats until the core temperature reaches 57°C
12
For the rack of hare, heat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4. Brown the hare racks in the butter all over, transfer to an oven tray and cook for 6 minutes
13
For the hazelnut beurre noisette, heat the butter until it browns then strain. Whisk together with the lemon juice. Pour over the toasted hazelnuts and season with salt and pepper
14
For the pickled mushrooms, put everything except the mushrooms in a heavy bottomed pan. Bring up to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to infuse for 20 minutes
  • 500ml of water
  • 6g of garlic
  • 50g of banana shallot
  • 40g of caster sugar
  • 15g of salt
  • 60ml of olive oil
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 175ml of white wine vinegar
15
When tepid, strain through a fine sieve into a clean heavy based pan. Bring back to a simmer and pour over the clean mushrooms. Place in a sterile jar and chill
16
For the quince slices and purée, wash the quince and drain. Peel and place in the water mixed with the lemon juice. Bring the Monbazillac, honey, vanilla, pepper and lemon juice to the boil. Remove from the heat
17
Cut the quince into 4 pieces (2 larger 2 smaller). Avoid the core. Place the larger pieces of quince into a sous vide bag with 150ml of the liquid
18
Place the smaller pieces of quince into separate sous vide bags to ensure even cooking with 150ml of liquid. Steam for 20 minutes. Select the best presentation slices and trim neatly into 10mm pieces
19
You will require 50% for purée and 50% for presentation. Retain the presentation slices in the cooking liquid. The trimmings may require a further few minutes back in the steamer in vac pack bags with liquor
20
Drain the cooked trimmings, retaining the liquid. Blitz the trimmings in a blender adding a little liquid to make a purée. Pass through a fine sieve
21
For the red wine essence, melt the butter in a heavy based pan and slowly caramelise the shallots then lightly season. Put the red wine and mushrooms in a separate pan and quickly reduce by half to 750ml
22
In a separate pan reduce the port by 1/3 to 500ml. Add garlic and thyme to the caramelised shallots and cook for a further 2 minutes. Place the shallots, port and red wine into a clean heavy based pan and bring to a gentle simmer
23
Correct the seasoning with salt, sugar and black pepper. Infuse for 20 minutes and pass through a fine sieve. Whisk in the xantana using a hand blender. Check the seasoning
24
To dress, warm the lettuce in an emulsion of butter, boiling water and salt. Place the drained lettuce on the plate and piece of braised meat on top. Place the warm beetroot, quince, and baby leeks around and place the rack and saddle onto the plate
25
Place the sauce around with the red wine essence, sprinkle with toasted hazlenuts and serve
First published in 2015

Gary Jones led the kitchen at Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons from 1999 to 2022.

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