A Rabbit Pie

Autumn has arrived on Paxos and the days are shorter and noticeable cooler with an early fall wind sweeping through the island. The olive trees hang over the roads overburdened with their darkening fruit; their harvest fast approaching. Afternoons in Gaios are an orchestra of working chainsaws and the crackle of backyard bonfires as the demands of off season life start to to take priority. The leaves on the tress are starting to fall and vines ripen, creating a luminous pallet of autumn in the country lanes of Ozias as friends gather, and with stained fingers, prepare local wine. By the waters edge old wooden fishing boats, abandoned all summer are readied for the Calamari season, and with the onset of some free time they slip unnoticed into the granite blue waters of early autumn evenings.

As we edge deeper into October the rain becomes more and more ubiquitous. Starting as a patter against the wood in no time it hammers down creating rivers in the vegetables beds, lashing down on the already olive strewn main roads to create virtual oil slicks as life grounds to a halt. It never fails to put me in the mood to cook and to turn my attention to the seasonal ingredients that are so common place this time of the year. Broccoli, cauliflower and beetroots stand proud and robust amongst the supermarket shelves, alongside them plump little lineup next to deep red pomegranates and pale yellow quince. A single giant pumpkin sits on top of everything, as if watching over things, the creases in its hard flesh aged with time, its bright orange flesh is as good an indicator of anything that summer is over.

When I think of Autumn, my mind always goes to Game. the deep, distinct flavour of wood pigeons and pheasants hung at the butchers or the blushing deep red flesh of a rack of venison. Here on Paxos I am rather limited with my choice but its my understanding and awareness of the importance of hunting and specifically shooting here on Paxos that perhaps most inspires my decision. I have had a dish in mind for some time now and was waiting for the onset of more autumnal days to give it a go.

Rabbit and Onions

I arrived into the village early and made a beeline straight to the butcher to collect the rabbit and as I was leaving I caught sight of Fotini's grandfather, sitting as usual in his old flat cap and dungarees in the square of Gaios. He called me over and we briefly spoke in my broken Greek. The common ground is always his beautiful garden, a fastidious worker, he is rarely absent from the beautiful little allotment that has been built in his old yard, tending to little tomatoes or encouraging his enormous courgettes. 'Echo ena kouneli' I announced rather proudly, and after some deliberation on my pronunciation, the eyes of him and the wider group - 'ahhh Kouneli...a rabbit...yes? he corrected me... 'neh neh...you are making stifado?'

Stifado is a traditional Greek stew made of pieces of rabbit or beef cooked in sweet red wine, cinnamon and all spice. It has a wonderful fragrance to the finished dish, similar to a north African tagine obtained through the care and slow cooking of the meat and spices. There are of course variations to the dish, but the one thing that is not free for debate is the essential inclusion of onions, pearl baby onions, soft and sweet, and lots of them. Ok so this is not a stifado. I want to be very clear about that, however it is the components and flavours of the stifado that I wanted to capture in a recipe idea that showcases autumnal flavours as well as using as much as the animal as possible.

First the rabbit needs to be butchered. After the head has been removed, the legs and shoulders need to be jointed and then the belly flaps removed. Following this the liver, heart and little lungs need to be removed from the body cavity, with the liver reserved for the stuffing. The saddle then needs to be boned out by removing the tenderloins and then carefully removing the back bone, keeping the two loins flanking the spine intact.

To make the stifado, the legs and arms need to be seared in a hot pan and put to one side. To the same pan, add a rough dice of carrots, celery and onion and finely chopped garlic. After the vegetables have started to soften but before they colour the pan needs to be de-glazed in sweet red wine. Add to this a spoon of tomato puree and take time to cook this out. Return the rabbit joints to the pan and add a tin of chopped tomatoes before adding the cinnamon and all spice. Put a lid on the pan and put the whole thing in a hot mid to high oven for about 35 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the loin. Start by setting a water bath to 55'c. Next combine finely chopped liver, rosemary, pine nuts and lardons with the yolk of a single egg, season and place in the middle of the two loins. Lay the whole boned saddle on a piece of prosciutto or cured ham and wrap up the loin. Seal it in tightly wrapped clingfilm before poaching in the water bath for 35 minutes. This will be finished in the pan later to add colour and caramelisation.

Once the rabbit stifado has cooked and cooled, carefully pull the meat from the legs and arms. and combine with a little of the sauce and the vegetables - reserve the remaining sauce. To make the pies cut two small circles of puff pastry, one slightly larger than the other. Carefully place some of the cooled rabbit on the smaller disc and cover with the larger disc. Brush the edge with egg wash and seal the two discs. Once made place the pithivier in the fridge. (important to let the rabbit cool as hot rabbit will melt the pastry). Strain the remaining sauce and gently reduce in the pan, season to taste.

For the onion components, slice two onions through the core, keeping the skin on. Place the onions face down in a pan on high heat and leave for around twenty minutes or until the face is completely charred. Allow the onions to cool before poaching them in chicken stock until soft. Once cooled peel the petals and keep to one side.

For the caramelised onions, finely slice the onions with a mandolin and add to a hot pan with some butter, thyme, brown sugar add a little balsamic vinegar. Cook the onions down until dark and soft, take care not to burn.

For the white onion puree, peel and cook the onions in butter and rosemary until very soft, taking care not colour the onions. Once cooked, add the onions and a touch of double cream to a blender. Puree on high until its smooth and silky.

To prepare the pithivier, take a small knife and taking care not to pierce the pastry, gently score the pie with lines running from the centre out to the sides. Glaze with egg wash and cook in a 180'c oven until golden brown.

Finish the loin in a hot pan with a little butter and rosemary to colour and heat through.

For the spinach, gently saute finely sliced garlic in a little butter and add the spinach leaves. Once softened take out and season.

To plate the dish place a teaspoon of the caramelised onions on the plate. Top with the rabbit pithivier, and add a slice of the roulade next to it. Place a few onion petals around the dish as well as couple of clumps of sauteed spinach. Finish the dish with the white onions puree and dress the loin and onion petals with the rabbit jus and some fresh rosemary.