Filet of Wild Hare with Burgundy Risotto

Ingredients

• 400 g porcini mushrooms
• 500 ml vegetable stock
• 1 onion
• 1 Garlic clove
• 2 parsley roots
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp porcini powder
• 200 g risotto rice (e.g., Arborio)
• 200 ml dry white wine (e.g., Pinot Gris)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan
• Salt
• pepper (ground)
• 2 tsp thyme (finely chopped)
• 1 kg wild hare meat (back fillet; 4 pieces of 250 g each)
• pepper (ground)
• 2 juniper berries
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tbsp clarified butter
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 125 ml hare stock
• 125 ml dry red wine (e.g., Burgundy)
• 1 tbsp cold butter
• 1 tbsp lingonberry jam
• fresh thyme (for garnish)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Preheat the oven to 70°C fan.

2. 2.

   For the burgundy risotto, clean and halve or leave whole the mushrooms. Heat the vegetable stock. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Clean and roughly cube the parsley roots. Heat the oil, sauté the onion and garlic until translucent. Add the bay leaf, porcini powder, and rice. Stir until glossy. Pour in about 100 ml wine, stir, and reduce. Repeat with another 100 ml, then the remaining wine, reducing each time while stirring vigorously. Fold in parsley root pieces and continue cooking the risotto, adding stock and wine as needed, until the rice is cooked (about 20 minutes). Add the prepared porcini and cook a few more minutes. Remove from heat, stir in butter and Parmesan, season with salt, a little pepper, and chopped thyme.

3. 3.

   While the risotto cooks, wash, pat dry, and season the hare fillets with pepper. Crush the juniper berries in a mortar. Roughly crumble the bay leaf. Heat the clarified butter, add the seasoned fillets to the pan, and sear all sides for about 3 minutes over high heat. Add the crushed juniper berries, bay leaf strips, and rosemary. Remove, wrap in foil, and keep warm at 70°C in the oven for 5–10 minutes. Deglaze the pan with hare stock and red wine, reduce briefly, stir in lingonberry jam, strain through a sieve, add cold butter, and whisk until smooth.

4. 4.

   Slice the hare fillets, place on individual portions of risotto, top with sauce, garnish with thyme if desired, and serve hot.