Le lièvre à la Royale, Centre Val de Loire region

Ingredients

6 servings

• 1 hare
• 1 fresh foie gras
• 2 bottles of red wine
• 1 bouquet garni
• 50 g blueberries (frozen out of season)
• 1 carrot
• 2 squares of dark chocolate
• 1 teaspoon of blueberry jam
• salt
• pepper
• 50 g butter

Steps

1. 1

   Ask the butcher to gut the hare through the belly and keep the offal for you. Also ask them to debone it and keep the bones. Place the offal and the hare in the refrigerator.

2. 2

   Crush the bones and brown them in a little butter with the diced carrot. Add the red wine, blueberries, and bouquet garni. Salt and bring to a boil, then reduce the liquid by 1/3. Let cool then place in the fridge.

3. 3

   Prepare the stuffing by mixing the minced offal and the foie gras. Stuff the hare with it and close it using kitchen twine.

4. 4

   Bring the marinade to a simmer and submerge the hare. Let cook for about 2 hours and 30 minutes, covered.

5. 5

   Drain the hare, remove the twine, and keep warm.

6. 6

   Reduce the sauce by half then pass it through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing well on the contents to release all the flavors.

7. 7

   Add the chocolate and blueberry jam, let melt gently, and reduce if necessary so that the sauce coats the back of a spoon well. Adjust the seasoning and pepper.

8. 8

   Cut into 2-3 cm slices and serve with the sauce.