Norman-Style Rabbit Pastry

Ingredients

• 500 g rabbit meat (from the hind legs, trimmed)
• 1 rabbit fillet
• 200 g bacon (thin long strips)
• 1 Red Onion
• 2 carrots
• 1 stalk Celery
• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 Eggs
• 5 tbsp cognac
• 1 tbsp chopped mixed herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage…)
• 1 apple
• juice of 1 lemon
• Salt
• ground pepper

Instructions

1. 1.

   Rinse the meat, pat dry and finely chop. Wash, trim, peel if needed, and dice all vegetables. Heat 2 tbsp butter in a pan, sauté onions until translucent, add remaining vegetables and rabbit meat, stir in cognac and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, mix in herbs, season with salt and pepper, let cool slightly, then whisk in eggs.

2. 2.

   Slice the rabbit fillet lengthwise and quickly sear in remaining butter for 2-3 minutes on all sides, seasoning with salt and pepper.

3. 3.

   Peel the apple, quarter it, remove seeds, cut into wedges, drizzle with lemon juice.

4. 4.

   Line a long terrine or loaf pan (about 1 L) with wet parchment paper overhanging. Lay bacon overhangs, fill half with rabbit mixture, arrange fillet strips on top, add some apple wedges, top with remaining mixture, fold bacon over, place remaining apple wedges, and fold parchment over. Seal tightly with a lid or foil. Place in a hot water bath (bake dish with boiling water) and bake at 180°C for 40 minutes. Remove, cool, slice into servings.