Stour Valley Rabbit for Two

This is one of my favourite sharing dishes on the menu, as it uses the whole rabbit and embraces two cooking techniques that really celebrate the animal. The legs are braised slowly until beautifully tender and the saddle is roasted, while being protected with caul fat and pancetta. It takes a long time to prepare, but getting your butcher to bone out the rabbit for you makes it a little easier.

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Dish Difficulty: Hard

Serves: 4

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Ingredients

For the rabbit saddles:

2 large rabbit saddles, boned

50g caul fat, ask your butcher

180g sausage meat

1⁄2 bunch curly parsley, chopped

10 rashers pancetta, good quality

For the cottage pies:

4 rabbit legs

250ml white wine

250ml chicken jus

2 carrots, finely diced

1⁄2 celery, finely diced

2 onions, finely diced

2 garlic cloves

1 bay leaf

1 tbsp tarragon, chopped

3 tbsp parsley, chopped

Mash, to cover the cottage pies

250g frozen peas

Side vegetables:

Hispi cabbage, sliced. Alternatively, use whatever is seasonal and looking good.

For the Biddenden Jus:

500ml chicken jus

500ml Biddenden cider (or alternative good quality dry cider)

Salt and pepper

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Preparation

For the rabbit saddles:

1. Lay out the rabbit saddles skin side down and season with salt and pepper.

2. Mix the sausage meat with parsley and divide into two sausage shapes.

3. Place between the two rabbit loins and roll the saddles.

4. Place 5 rashers of pancetta on the board, slightly overlapping lengthways, and wrap around the rabbit loins.

5. Wrap each loin with caul fat, tie with butchers string and put aside.

For the cottage pies:

1. Colour the rabbit legs in a pan until a deep golden brown. Set aside.

2. Deglaze the pan with a little white wine. Colour the vegetables, then add the rest of the wine, chicken stock, garlic and bay leaf.

3. Simmer gently for 2 hours until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.

4. Lift the rabbit meat out. Remove all the bones and set aside.

5. Strain the vegetables from the stock and add the vegetables to the picked rabbit leg meat.

6. Reduce the stock to a sauce consistency and add half to the rabbit and vegetables. Add the tarragon, parsley and peas.

7. Season to taste, and place the mix in small side dishes and cover with mash.

Biddenden Cider Jus:

Add the remaining half of the rabbit jus to the chicken jus and Biddenden cider (or alternative good quality dry cider), and reduce by half. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve (20 minutes before):

1. Sear the two rabbit saddles in a frying pan until golden brown and place in the oven for 15 minutes.

2. After 15 minutes, probe the centre of the rabbit saddle, looking for a core temperature of 70°C, before removing from the oven.

3. Rest on a wire rack and place your rabbit pies in the oven for 10 minutes.

4. Lightly cook the hispi cabbage in a little butter and water emulsion. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. When the pies come out, the rabbit saddle will be nicely rested. Remove the string and slice each saddle into four pieces.