Cooking time: 12 hours marinating, then 2 1/2 hours
ingredients
serves 6
1 hare, weighing 4 1/2 - 5 pound when skinned, paunched and marinated for 12 hours (page 254)
6 slices fat bacon
75 g (3 oz) 1/3 cup dripping or bacon fat
1 1/4 cups red wine
1/2 pound mushrooms
2/3 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water
salt and freshly ground black pepper
method
1. Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Take the hare from the marinade and cut off the front legs to save for another day.
2. Pat dry carefully with absorbent paper. Truss the hind legs by pulling them forward and securing them alongside the body with skewers.
3. Place the hare on a rack in a roasting tin. Cover the back with the bacon slices and the hind legs with some greased foil if the bacon does not cover them.
4. Heat the dripping gently until melted. Pour it over the hare. Roast the hare for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 180°C (350°F). Pour the wine into the roasting pan. Continue roasting for another 1 1/4 hours. Baste the hare with wine several times.
5. Place the mushrooms around the meat. Baste them well, remove the bacon and reserve. Roast the meat for another 10 minutes or until it is tender.
6. Put the hare, mushrooms and bacon on a heated serving dish and keep hot. Blend the cornstarch with water.
7. Tilt the roasting pan, and skim off as much fat as you can from the sauce. Scrape up the sediment from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the sour cream. Heat the sauce in the pan over low heat. Bring it to boiling point and add a little to the blended cornstarch. Stir this mixture into the pan and boil for 1 minute. Season.
8. Portion the hare, making 2 portions from the saddle, 2 from the haunch and 1 each from the hind legs. Arrange these on a serving dish and pour a little of the sauce over. Cut up the bacon and arrange this and the mushrooms on the serving dish. Serve the remaining sauce separately.
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