Behind the Recipes

Lièvre À La Royale Garnished with Ziti in Wine-Cream Sauce and Beet Mousseline by D 'Artagnan

PREPARATION:

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 oz. minced shallots. Sauté until tender, 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, then pour in Armagnac and deglaze pan over high heat until liquid evaporates.

3. Set aside to cool, scrape mixture into food processor with chopped hare. Add pork, the 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme leaves, 1-teaspoon sage, salt and pepper. Pulse until blended. Do not over mix.

4. 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.

5. Preheat oven to 400 ° F.

6. 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.

7. 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 1 1/2 inches, using butcher's knots.

8. Remove pot with roasted bones from oven. Adjust temperature to 350 ° F.

9. Pour in 2 1/2 bottles red wine, add flour, juniper berries, cinnamon, bay leaf, and the bunch of thyme. Once boiling, 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 thermometer inserted into the center reads 135 ° F, 50 to 70 minutes. If liquid does not completely cover terrine, turn terrine over halfway through the cooking time. Cool overnight in the liquid.

10. 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.

11. Combine remaining 2 oz. 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.

Wine-cream sauce:

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.

Pasta:

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook until al dente.

12. 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.

Plating:

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 1/4 cup of sauce on top. Enjoy with your wine.

Recipe courtesy of D'Artagnan

< PREVIOUS RECIPE NEXT RECIPE >

Login to comment