Rabbit Agnolotti – Artichoke – Veloute – Spruce
Recipe by Darren Seggie.
Rabbit filling
Ingredients
1 Whole Rabbit-defurred
300ml Noilly Prat
300ml Dry White Wine
1 Fennel Bulb
2 Shallots
2 Sticks Celery
White Peppercorns – lightly crushed
400ml White Chicken Stock
Fresh Thyme
Fresh Tarragon
100g Ricotta
1 Bunch Chervil – Finely chopped
Method
Begin by jointing the rabbit into its fore and hind legs, then split the main body in two. Keep all of the meat on the bone.
Lightly sear in a wide based pot with a little oil and salt – try to keep a very light colour here.
Remove the rabbit from the pot then add in the fennel, shallots and celery cut into medium dice. Cook on a low-medium heat until sweet and almost translucent but with little caramelization.
Add the rabbit back in along with with half of the white wine and half of the Noilly Prat and reduce by two thirds.
Add the remainder of the alcohols along with the chicken stock, peppercorns, thyme and tarragon – stocks aswell.
Bring up to a gentle boil then cover with a cartouche and braise in the oven at 140c for 2 hours, or until the meat is falling from the bone.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool enough to handle, keep everything in the pot still, this will stop the rabbit drying out.
Once cooled, pick all the meat from the bones and shred by hand.
Strain the cooking liquor through a chinois, this will be the base of the veloute sauce.
Cool the rabbit mix fully, then fold the ricotta and chervil through and season to taste.
Pasta
Ingredients
2 Large Free Range Eggs
200g Tipo 00 Flour
Method
Begin by dumping all of the flour onto a bench and make well in the middle, this is knowns as the “fontana”.
Crack your eggs into the middle and beat with a fork, ensuring to keep the eggs inside the walls of the fontana.
Gradually begin to pull flour in from the walls using a stirring methods until the eggs become a thick paste. Then switch the fork to a dough scraper then cut and fold the remaining flour into the eggs until a very rough dough forms.
Using your hands, knead the dough for 5 minutes on a bench clean of flour. Cover with clingfilm and rest for 5 minutes.
After resting knead for a further 5 minutes then clingfilm and rest for 24 hours in the fridge to allow the gluten to fully hydrate and develop.
Roll through a pasta machine to the thinnest setting so you can see your hand through the dough when help up to light.
Lay out tea spoon sized pieces of the filling in a straight line about a finger width apart on one third of the dough.
Lightly dampen the second third of the dough, just in front of the rabbit mix then envelope.
Pinch the air gaps between the mix to close tightly and trim the pasta to close.
Cook in lightly boiling, seasoned water for 2 minutes.
Veloute
Ingredients
Cooking Liquor from braising
200ml Noilly Prat
200ml Dry White Wine
1 Fennel Bulb
2 Shallots
100g Button Mushrooms
1 Stick Celery
200ml Double Cream
100g Diced Butter
Method
Follow the same process as the braising by sauteing the diced vegetables, add the alcohols following the same add half, reduce then add the remaining process.
Once you have added the braising liquour allow to cook until reduced by half. Then add the cream.
Gently boil for 10 minutes then strain into a clean pot through a chinois and muslin. Using a stick blender, blend the butter in until fully incorporated. Season to taste.
Artichoke Puree
Ingredients
300g Jerusalem Artichokes – peeled and sliced.
200g Double Cream
100g Butter
Neutral flavoured oil
Method
Fry the artichokes in a little oil until dark and caramelised.
Add the butter and allow to come to a beurre noisette.
Add the cream then cook until the artichoke is soft.
Blend until smooth.
Salted Artichokes
Ingredients
2 Jerusalem Artichokes
Fine Salt
1 Lemon
Method
Scrub then thinly slice the artichokes either on a mandolin or using a peeler.
Place in a bowl and sprinkle with salt then allow to sit for 1 hour to soften.
Lightly dress with lemon juice when ready to use.
Spruce Oil
Ingredients
200g Young Spruce Tips
200g Neutral Oil
Salt
Method
Blend the spruce tips with the oil in a heat controlled blender at 68c for 5 minutes.
Pour everything in to a bowl and allow to macerate overnight.
The next day, blend again this time with no temperature and then allow to drip through a muslin.
Reserve ready to use.