- 8
Ingredients
- 8 SERVINGS
- Lièvre à la Royale Garnished with Ziti in Wine-Cream Sauce and Beet Mousseline
- 2 Scottish Hare, or 8 hare hind legs
- • 2 tablespoons olive oil or unsalted butter
- • 6 ounces wild mushrooms such as chanterelles, cèpes, morels, cleaned, stems removed if necessary, cut into small dice
- • 3 ounces shallots, minced, plus 2 ounces shallots, finely chopped
- • 1/4 cup Armagnac or brandy
- • 8 ounces ground pork
- • 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, plus 1 bunch thyme
- • 1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
- • 2 teaspoons salt or to taste
- • 1 teaspoon pepper or to taste
- • 8 ounces Grade B foie gras
- • 1 each onion, carrot, and celery rib, coarsely chopped
- • 3 (750-ml) bottles full-bodied, fruity red wine
- • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- • 12 juniper berries
- • 1 stick cinnamon
- • 1 large bay leaf
- • 2 to 4 tablespoons red currant jelly
- • 1 cup heavy cream
- • 1 pound fresh beets
- • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- • 40 pieces (about 4 ounces) dried ziti or other large tubular pasta
- Rolled and braised in wine and stock, the hare is sliced,surrounded with wine-and-cream-bathed ziti and ovals of puréed beets. It’s indeed a dish for nobles. Accent it with the richness of a fine Bord
Preparation
Step 1
Quick Measuring Stick
When boiling liquids to reduce them, a simple way to estimate how much evaporation takes place is to dip a wooden stick, such as a chopstick, into the liquid and mark how deeps it is at the start. As the liquid cooks down, you can gauge the progress without pouring it into a measuring cup each time.
Directions
1. Cut up hare into legs, saddles and flaps. Carefully debone hind legs and saddles, and set meat aside. Scrape meat from front legs and from inside of the saddles (tenderloins). Combine with flap meat in a food processor and pulse until fairly finely chopped. Reserve all bones.
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add wild mushrooms and the 3 ounces minced shallots. Sauté until tender, 2 ½ to 3 minutes, then pour in Armagnac and deglaze pan over high heat until liquid evaporates. Allow to cool, then scrape mixture into food processor with chopped hare. Add pork, the 1 ½ teaspoons thyme leaves, 1-teaspoon sage, salt and pepper. Pulse until blended. Do not over mix.
3. Line a 3 x 5 x 10-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap. Lay 2 of the boned legs on the bottom, pressing into place to cover bottom as completely as possible. Place loins against sides of pan. Put half of the forcemeat in pan. Cut foie gras into chunks the size of your thumb, and lay them down center of forcemeat. Add remaining forcemeat, and cover with remaining 2 legs, pressing them gently into forcemeat. Wrap plastic wrap over terrine and refrigerate until firm, preferably overnight.
4. F. Preheat oven to 400
5. Place bones, onion, carrot, and celery in a deep pot, large enough to hold hare terrine along with braising liquid. Roast bones and vegetables uncovered until bones are a rich mahogany color, about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
6. Meanwhile, lay out a 24-inch square of cheesecloth. Remove terrine from refrigerator and unmold onto cheesecloth. Remove plastic wrap and roll up terrine snugly in cheesecloth. Secure ends with string. Tie string around width of terrine, every 1 to 1½ inches, using butcher’s knots
7. F.Remove pot with roasted bones from oven. Adjust temperature to 350
8. Pour in 2 ½ bottles wine (pour yourself a glass of the remainder), add the flour, juniper berries, cinnamon, bay leaf, and bunch of thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Lower terrine carefully into liquid, cover pan with aluminum foil and a lid, and return to oven. Cook until an instant-read F, 50 to 70 minutes. If liquid thermometer inserted into the center reads 135 does not completely cover terrine, turn terrine over halfway through the cooking time. Cool overnight in the liquid.
9. Remove terrine from braising liquid. Strain liquid into a clean pan, bring to a boil, and reduce by half. Stir in jelly and adjust seasonings.
10. Combine remaining 2 ounces of shallots with the reduced braising liquid and bring to a boil. Reduce by half, then pour in all but 1 tablespoon of the cream and, over medium-high heal, reduce to the consistency of light cream, stirring occasionally. Stir in chopped sage leaves and keep warm.
11. Cook beets in salted water until tender when pierced with a knife. Drain, peel and purée in a food processor. Add remaining tablespoon of cream, the butter, and salt and pepper. Pulse to blend, then keep warm in a small saucepan.
12. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook until al dente.
13. While ziti are cooking, remove cheesecloth from terrine and cut terrine into 1-inch slices. Carefully place slices in a large skillet, with a little braising liquid, to reheat over medium-high heat.
14. Drain ziti and toss with wine-cream sauce. Arrange 5 ziti around the outside of each of 8 heated plates. Place 3 small ovals of beet mousseline on pasta. Place 1 slice of terrine in the center of each plate and spoon about ¼ cup of sauce on top. Pour yourself one more glass of reserved red wine, and relax.