HARE WELLINGTON

▸ Roll out the four pieces of puff pastry to 2mm thick, 18cm long and 15cm in width and rest in the fridge.▸ Make 4 thin pancakes and place in the fridge.▸ Dice the▸ Add 2 tablespoons of Armagnac and blend until smooth, slowly adding the olive oil.▸ Turn out into a stainless-steel bowl and mix in the drained raisins and pistachios. Season with salt and pepper.▸ Roll out cling film on a work surface and put a thin pancake on top. Using a palette knife, spread out some of the blended stuffing evenly on top of the pancake about 2mm thick.▸ Put the hare loin on top and wrap up the package in cling film until a neat sausage shape has been achieved. Repeat to create 4 wellington inserts.▸ Unwrap the insert. Trim excess pancake from the ends and overlaps. Remove the cling film and wrap the ‘sausage’ in pastry to minimise any overlap. Seal the sides and ends of the pastry with egg yolk. Repeat for each loin to create 4 individual wellingtons.▸ Put the 4 hare wellingtons into a roasting tin, flap side down, with a little vegetable oil and cook in the oven on 200°C/gas mark 6.▸ The parcels should have 4 sides; when the first sides are brown, repeat the process until all sides of the hare wellingtons are of even colour. This should take about 10 minutes.▸ When cooked, remove excess pastry from both ends and slice each wellington into 3 medallions. Serve with root vegetables and game jus flavoured with prunes.▸ Hare doesn’t taste good when it is overcooked. The pancake and the farce [stuffing] are not unnecessary complications. They are there to soak up the juices released during the cooking, and to ensure that the pastry does not become soggy. The most important thing is to have fresh hare, otherwise the taste is far too strong.