Rabbit Pie with Pancetta and Mushrooms

Cut the rabbit into pieces, remove the bones and put to one side (don't bother to bone the smaller pieces such as the forlegs, just add them to rest of the bones). You will be left with quite a lot of rabbit  Picture  .

Put the bones and any scraps of meat into a saucepan along with a scraped and halved carrot, half an onion and a half dozen or so of slightly crushed black peppercorns. Barely cover with water and then simmer for half an hour. Pour the mixture through a sieve and lightly season with salt. This makes a very nice stock.

Meanwhile, cut the meat into smallish chunks suitable for a pie. Take the rind off the pancetta slices and cut into lardons, and peel and cut the mushrooms into slices  Picture  .

Season the rabbit pieces with salt and pepper and very quickly sear in a little olive oil. Put in an ovenproof pan along with the pancetta lardons, cover with the stock and cook in the oven for 45 minutes or so at 325°F/170°C/Reg3. Meanwhile sauté the mushroom slices in a little oil, season with a little cayenne and put to one side.

Stir in a tablespoonful of cornflour into the rabbit mixture from the oven, add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Stir in three or four tablespoonfuls of cream, re-season if necessary and put into a pie dish  Picture  . Cover with the pastry and cook at 400°F/200°C/Reg6 for 30 minutes or so until nicely golden  Picture  .

Prepare the carrots  Recipe   and put into the oven. Meanwhile pod the peas, put in a saucepan with a little butter and a couple of pinches of salt, barely cover with water and simmer until tender. Top and tail the leeks, take off the outer leaves, cut into slices and sauté in a little butter stirring from time to time. Drain the peas and stir into the leeks  Picture  .

Put a layer of the leek/pea mixture on to serving dishes along with some carrots, add slices of the pastry and rabbit mixture and serve  Zoom  .