Ingredients
| front and rear legs from 2 hares (8 legs) | |
| 1 jar porcini in olive oil (or 30g dried porcini and 4 tablespoons olive oil) | |
| 2 brown onions, chopped | |
| 2 sticks celery, chopped | |
| 1 carrot, peeled, chopped | |
| 2 sprigs thyme | |
| 3 fresh bay leaves | |
| 500ml dark ale (we love Hallertau #4 Deception Schwarzbier) | |
| 1 litre hare stock (or dark chicken stock) |
Instructions
| 1. | Preheat the oven to 160°C. |
| 2. | Season the legs liberally with salt and pepper and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking. |
| 3. | Strain the porcini and pour 2 tablespoons of the olive oil into a frying pan set over a medium heat. |
| 4. | Brown the porcini with the onion, celery and carrot. |
| 5. | Add the thyme and whole bay leaves (so you can pick them out before serving). |
| 6. | Transfer the browned vegetables and herbs to a casserole or heavy-based pot. |
| 7. | Add another 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the frying pan and heat over a high heat until the oil is shimmering. |
| 8. | Add the hare legs to the hot oil and brown the meat on both sides. |
| 9. | When all sides are sealed, transfer the legs to the casserole dish with the vegetables. |
| 10. | Deglaze the pan with 200ml of the ale, using a wooden spoon to scrape up all the caramelised bits. |
| 11. | Add the pan juices to the casserole; top it up with stock and the remaining ale until the meat is almost covered. |
| 12. | Cover the meat with a circle of baking paper cut to the size of the casserole dish, put the lid on and place in the oven. |
| 13. | Cook for about 3 hours; the hare is cooked when the meat easily falls away from the bone. |
| 14. | Remove the legs from the casserole dish and set aside. |
| 15. | Discard the thyme and bay leaves. |
| 16. | Reduce the remaining liquid by a third over a medium heat, until it thickens to form a sauce to coat the meat. |
| 17. | Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. |
| 18. | Return the legs to the sauce until ready to serve. |
| 19. | Spoon the sauce generously over the meat. |
| 20. | Finish with fresh ground black pepper and accompany with a simple watercress salad and potato mash or creamy polenta. |
Recipes & food styling Dariush Lolaiy / Photography Tony Nyberg
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