Shopping list:
For the pearl barley
100g/3½oz butter
¾ tbsp olive oil
¾ white onion, finely chopped
150g/5¼oz pearl barley
660ml/1 pint 3¾fl oz chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1½ tbsp mascarpone
For the rabbit
4 farmed rabbit loins, trimmed
750ml/1 pint 7fl oz chicken stock
2 tsp juniper berries
2 tsp black peppercorns
4 bay leaves
8 shallots, peeled and left whole
fleur de sel, to serve
For the beer sauce
200ml/11½fl oz beer
200ml/7¼fl oz chicken stock
1 tsp caster sugar
For the bacon-wrapped prunes
8 slices of dry cured streaky unsmoked bacon, cut in half lengthways
300g/10½oz pitted prunes (about 16 prunes)
pinch cayenne pepper
For the winter greens
knob butter
bunch winter greens
For the rabbit kidneys and livers
knob butter
1 tbsp olive oil
4 rabbit kidneys
2 rabbit livers
Ingredients:-
- For the pearl barley
100g/3½oz butter
¾ tbsp olive oil
¾ white onion, finely chopped
150g/5¼oz pearl barley
660ml/1 pint 3¾fl oz chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1½ tbsp mascarpone
- For the rabbit
4 farmed rabbit loins, trimmed
750ml/1 pint 7fl oz chicken stock
2 tsp juniper berries
2 tsp black peppercorns
4 bay leaves
8 shallots, peeled and left whole
fleur de sel, to serve
- For the beer sauce
200ml/11½fl oz beer
200ml/7¼fl oz chicken stock
1 tsp caster sugar
- For the bacon-wrapped prunes
8 slices of dry cured streaky unsmoked bacon, cut in half lengthways
300g/10½oz pitted prunes (about 16 prunes)
pinch cayenne pepper
- For the winter greens
knob butter
bunch winter greens
- For the rabbit kidneys and livers
knob butter
1 tbsp olive oil
4 rabbit kidneys
2 rabbit livers
Method:-
- For the pearl barley, heat the butter and oil in a pan.
- Add the onion and cook until the onions have softened, but not coloured.
- Add the pearl barley and stir with a wooden spoon until the grains are thoroughly coated in butter and oil.
- Pour in half of the stock and cook until the stock is completely absorbed.
- Add the remaining stock and cook until the barley is tender - this can take up to an hour and a half.
- Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste and stir in the mascarpone.
- For the rabbit, add the rabbit to a pan of cold chicken stock and bring the stock to barely a simmer.
- Add the juniper, peppercorns, bay and shallots and cook for about 30 minutes, until the rabbit is cooked through.
- Preheat the oven to 170C/340F/Gas 3.
- Pour the beer and stock into a separate pan and cook until reduced to a syrupy consistency.
- Add the sugar after the sauce has reduced.
- While the rabbit is cooking and the beer and stock is reducing, prepare the bacon-wrapped prunes.
- Wrap the bacon slices around each of the prunes.
- Place on a baking tray and bake in the oven until the bacon is crisp - this can take 10-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the bacon.
- Heat a little butter in a frying pan and add the greens to the pan.
- Cook until wilted and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Keep warm.
- For the rabbit liver and kidneys, add the butter and oil to a frying pan.
- When hot, add the liver and kidneys and cook for a minute on each side.
- Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, set aside and keep warm.
- Carefully remove the rabbit loins from the stock and add to the frying pan in which you have cooked the liver and kidneys.
- Cook until coloured on both sides.
- Season with fleur de sel and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- To serve, divide the greens between four plates and share out the pearl barley, rabbit loin and liver between the plates over the greens.
- Cut the kidney in half and place on top.
- On the other side of each plate, share out the bacon-wrapped prunes.
- Spoon over the beer sauce and serve at once. Ingredients
