) and managed to connect of a couple of rabbits digging up a lawn.As I was staying with a septuagenarian with a pantry laden with dried fruit I couldn't help but be reminded of this recipe and gave it another run
Old English Rabbit Pies with Bacon, Apple and Prunes
1 rabbit, I tend to bone it out into chunks no bigger than 1 inch by half inch as I make many small pies, the original recipe calls for bone in joints and a pie with only a top crust cooked in a pie dish
2 medium onions, chopped fairly small
8 oz (225 g) bacon, I used 6 full rashers cut into half by half inch
1 medium cooking apple, peeled and sliced
4 oz (110 g) pitted prunes (weighed after the stones have been removed), chopped
½ pint (275 ml) dry cider - I gave mercury hard cider a go and the leftovers were quite palatable.
¾ pint (425 ml) stock or water
½ whole nutmeg, grated
1 bay leaf
1½ oz (40 g) plain flour
1½ oz (40 g) butter
salt and freshly milled black pepper
several sheets of puff pastry depending on your chosen pie size
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 7, 425°F (220°C).
Place rabbit meat in a large saucepan.
Tuck in the onion and apple among the meat. Add bacon to the saucepan along with the bayleaf, a little salt and some freshly milled pepper.
Pour in the cider and the stock, bring to simmering point, skim off any bits of scum, then put a lid on and leave to simmer gently for about an hour and a half depending on age of rabbit (cook until tender).
When it's cooked, remove the rabbit pieces together with the bacon, apple and onion (with a draining spoon) and transfer them to the pie dish, sprinkling in the chopped prunes as well.
When the rabbit mix has started to cool I add it to puff pastry pie bases in muffin trays - a decent size muffin tray will yield 9 pies, a smaller one 12 pies. I'd suspect theirs enough mixture for 2 of the 9 inch aluminium pie trays you buy at supermarkets.
Now mix the flour and butter to a smooth paste, then add this mixture to the stock in the saucepan, adding it in tiny (peanut-size) pieces, stir them round over a medium heat to melt and thicken the sauce.
Sprinkle in the nutmeg and when the sauce reaches simmering point pour it over the rabbit. If you've gone for smaller pies you will have sauce left over, I should reduce the amount of stock I use initially but haven't worried enough thus far.
Dampen the edge of the pastry bases and lid edge and place the pastry lid in position on top, pressing well all round to seal the edges.
Make a small hole for steam to escape, then bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Probably goes well with a Pinot but I made do with a Barossa Shiraz
