Excuse the sojourn of late -computer and I have fallen out - I think we're going to break up soon ....anyway enough about my personal life. Here follows the main course I created for the last supper event and it went down a treat. I remember eating rabbit as a child on the farm -proper freeganism... killed by dad, cooked by mum -proper cliché.....and proper delicious. You might get your hands on a rabbit from the right people at a farmers market or you can order one from a butcher that deals with more specialised meats. Ennis Butchers and Fallon & Byrne will both oblige you if you live in or near Dublin. Ravioli is an excellent way to make a little meat go a very long way and you can freeze them ahead of time so if you are preparing a meal for a large crowd they can reduce the stress levels of a main course immensely. You can make pasta by hand but to get it as thin as you need for ravioli you're really in a better place with a machine. Try other fillings if you can't get rabbit...I once had wild boar ravioli in a restaurant with no menu in the hills of Tuscany....I think you'll have better luck hunting down the rabbit though.

Rabbit Ravioli with Porcini Mushrooms

What you need: For 12 (freeze whatever you don't need)

For the filling-

1 rabbit jointed (ask your butcher to joint it)
2 carrots roughly chopped
2 sticks of celery roughly chopped
1 onion roughly chopped
3 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
a few handfulls of whatever mushrooms you like -roughly chopped
2 ltrs chicken stock
1 egg

For the pasta-

1kg '00' flour (you need '00' flour as it has extra gluten -which equals magic stretching power!)
10 eggs (apply the general rule of 1 whole egg per 100g flour)
pinch of salt
1 extra egg for brushing on the dough

What you need to do:

For the filling-

Braise your rabbit pieces on a hot frying pan
In a large saucepan gently fry your onions and garlic
Add your rabbit followed by the vegetables and stock
Simmer for 2 hours on a low heat or until the meat if falling off the bone
Strain the meat and veg, allow to cool and remove the meat from the bones
Using a hand blender whizz the meat and vegetables into a paste
Add some beaten egg if it is too dry

For the pasta -

Place your flour and salt in a large bowl -make a well in the middle
Whisk up your eggs and pour into the well
Gradually combine with your hands
When you are able, form it into one ball of dough -knead it on a lightly floured work surface until it is springy
If it is too dry you can wet it by adding water from your hands (run tap on your hands, shake off excess and kneed the dough)
Divide your dough into 10 pieces -wrap each in cling film and rest for 15 mins
Begin with one piece of dough -run it through all the sizes on a pasta machine until you have the thinnest pasta -lay this on a lightly floured surface
Mark out the ravioli on the lower half of the sheet using a circular shaped cutter -I have used an espresso cup in the past -whatever you have to hand

Ravioli Assembly Line

Place a small teaspoon of filling in each circle, brush the upper half of the pasta with the beaten egg and fold over
Cut out each piece of ravioli - after you have pressed all of the air out seal each piece of ravioli
If freezing them -use a box or freezer drawer with plenty of space and separate the layers with greaseproof paper -try not too let the ravioli touch each other
To make the sauce reduce down the liquid from the rabbit stew and season accordingly
Rehydrate some porcini mushrooms -add the liquid from this into the sauce for extra depth of flavour
Bring 5 litres of water to the boil in a pot with a few generous sprinkles of salt
Cook the ravioli for about 3 mins or until they have risen to the surface
Serve with the sauce and some porcini mushrooms

Pass the Parcel