Royal hare stew

Ingredients

1 hare jointed, blood and liver reserved
50g/2oz butter
2x125g/4oz pieces green streaky bacon, each cut into 12 strips
3 medium onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp flour
10 garlic cloves
500ml/17fl oz stock
500ml/17fl oz red wine
salt and pepper
24 shallots, sliced finely
1 bouquet garni
24 mushrooms

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 120C/250F/Gas ½.
2. Fry the hare in the butter until lightly browned. Add half the bacon and the onions and mix well.
3. Sprinkle the hare with the flour and cook, stirring and turning the pieces over regularly, for at least 10 minutes or until the flour is well browned.
4. Add five of the garlic cloves, crushed, and pour in enough stock and red wine to cover the meat completely. Season with salt and pepper, and add one eight of the shallots and the bouquet garni. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer, covered, for about 1½ hours.
5. Remove the pieces of hare and transfer them to an earthenware casserole with a tightly fitting lid, reserving the rest of the contents. Add the mushrooms, the rest of the bacon, remaining five whole garlic cloves and the rest of the shallots to the casserole. Cook for a little while longer until the vegetables are softened.
6. Remove the bouquet garni from the pan in which the hare was cooked and press the rest of the contents through a sieve over the hare in the casserole.
7. Cover the casserole and cook in the oven for about 30 minutes, until the meat is meltingly tender.
8. Stir the reserved blood and the finely minced liver into the hare cooking liquid and warm it over a very low heat, shaking the casserole from time to time.
9. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken, but do not allow it to approach boiling point.