Posh rabbit pie

As promised in my earlier post, here's the Rabbit Pithivier recipe from the Goring's head chef Derek Quelch:

RABBIT, WILD MUSHROOM AND PRUNE PITHIVIER
WITH AN ENGLISH MUSTARD SAUCE

INGREDIENTS
½ x confit wild rabbit, cut into approx ½ “ pieces
125g cooked wild mushrooms
15 x diced prunes
250g puff pastry
20g cooked, finely chopped shallots
mixed with, 1 clove crushed garlic cooked
Salt and pepper
½dl brandy
Eggwash

FOR THE SAUCE
½ litre supreme sauce
English mustard

METHOD
1. In a bowl mix together the rabbit, wild mushrooms, prunes, shallots and garlic.
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add some brandy to taste.
4. Split the mix into 5 equal portions.
5. Roll out the puff pastry and cut out 5 rings with a 10cm diameter cutter.
6. Cut out another 5 rings with a 12-13cm diameter cutter.
7. On the small rings, put the rabbit mix in and cover with the larger ring of pastry and seal the edges.
8. Place in the fridge for one hour to rest.
9. When ready to cook, brush with the eggwash and score the top.
10. Bake in an oven @ 180C for 15-20 minutes.
11. Boil the supreme sauce and add English mustard to taste.

Near miss with a falling pheasant

I've been trying to get some video of pheasants flying at the shoot today... this one fell a bit too close for comfort!

Plenty of poppies on show at the shoot today.

Is this the best rabbit pie in the world?

I've just been to the unbelievably posh Goring Hotel, just round the corner from Buckingham Palace. Apparently the Queen pops round for tea now and again. If I had her money, I would too. It's a fabulous place.

The hotel is passionate about game, and head chef Derek Quelch (pictured below with MD David Morgan-Hewitt) produced this amazing rabbit pie. At least, the menu called it "Wild Mushroom, Rabbit and Prune Pithivier with an English Mustard Sauce". But when I asked Derek about it, he didn't beat about the bush: "It's a posh rabbit pie," he said.

Well he's right, but that's not doing it justice. It was one of the tastiest game dishes I've ever had. It's like a puff pastry clay pigeon, filled with rabbit, wild mushrooms and prunes. Sounds an odd mixture, but it really is delicious.

View the recipe here.

Squirrel shooting part II - the stew

Following my squirrel shooting exploits at the weekend, here is the squirrel stew cooked up by Vikki, who declared it "delicious".

Update: Here's Vikki's recipe...

Ingredients

(Serves 2. Preparation time: 5-10 minutes, Cooking time: 1 hr 40 mins)

• 3-4 squirrels (skinned, gutted and cut into joints)
• 2 carrots (sliced 1cm thick)
• 1 medium onion (sliced)
• 1 large green pepper (roughly chopped)
• 3 celery sticks (sliced approx 1cm thick)
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 can of white beans
• 1⁄2 pint vegetable stock
• 2 large potatoes (sliced)
• 1 large courgette (thickly sliced)
• 3 tbs flour
• Dash of olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Cajun spice

Method

Preheat oven to 200C/400F/ Gas mark 6. Heat the carrots, onions, pepper and celery with a little oil in a large, lidded pot.

Coat the squirrel pieces with seasoned flour, fry with a dash of oil until brown, and add to the pot. Deglaze the frying pan with a little stock, pour into the pot, and add the remaining stock.

Stir and simmer for 10 mins, then add the chopped tomatoes, plus cajun spice to taste. Simmer until the meat is tender (approx 11⁄2 hours) stirring every 30 mins.

Blanch the potatoes for 5 mins in boiling water, drain and put in a roasting tin with the courgettes. Drizzle olive oil on top, season, and slow roast for 11⁄2 hours at 100C/200F, turning every 30 mins.

Add the white beans to the stew 5 mins before serving. Serve with roasted potatoes and courgettes and a good granary bread.

Video - Beater of the Year

Squirrel shooting part I - ingredients

Today I went to my parents' to shoot some squirrels - they are over-run with the things. In the last fortnight, my dad and I between us have shot 22.

They just weren't playing ball today though. With so much leaf still on the trees, if the squirrels aren't out feeding then there's little chance of spotting one.

So it became more of a stroll in the woods with the dog and the gun. In weather like this, with the leaves all gold and brown against a blue sky, I've no complaints.

Final tally for the day: 1 squirrel and 2 pigeons - all of which I'm about to prepare for a brave soul in the office who is keen to see what squirrel tastes like.

Video - coming soon

I've been working on a short video from my visit to the Elcombe Shoot in Wiltshire, where I met our Beater of the Year award-winner, Doug Titt.

Sounds easy when I type it, but it's a massive learning curve for me! I recently ebayed a whole lot of stuff that had been lying in cupboards for ages, and spent the proceeds (also on ebay) on a shiny almost-new Canon XM2 camcorder.

The camera's first day out was at Elcombe. The results were quite satisfying, and I was able to extract the audio to use in my latest podcast. But that's just the start of it. I've had to get a copy of the editing software, Finalcut Express, and learn how to (a) get the video off the camera and into the laptop, and (b) use the editing software to snip out the bits I want and join them together.

The photo at the top of this post is a screenshot from my laptop, as I work on the footage. There's still a way to go before I'm happy with it, and then I have to work out how to save the finished movie in the right format, and upload it so that people can see it.

I'll get there in the end - meanwhile you'll just have to be patient!