Hare ragu with Pappardelle

Method

1. Place the hare with red wine, herbs, and garlic in a bowl to marinate overnight if possible.
2. Drain the hare (keeping the marinade) and then dust the joints with flour, salt and pepper.
3. Heat the oil in a pan, and then brown the meat on all sides. Add to your casserole dish.
4. Finely chop the bacon, and fry till golden. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic, and then sweat gently in the pan. Add the casserole dish, and then deglaze the pan with some of the red wine marinade.
5. Add the remainder of the marinade to the casserole, along with the stock, tomato puree, and tomatoes.
6. Bring to a simmer, then cover, and simmer for 2 hours over a low heat, checking that the sauce doesn’t dry out. Top up with stock or water if it does.
7. After 2 hours, check the hare, which should be falling away from the bone, and soft. Remove the hare from the casserole and put on a plate, then leave the sauce uncovered to reduce.
8. Once cool to touch, gently sperate the hare meat from the bones, creating a variety of sized flakes of meat.
9. Once the sauce has been reduced to a thick consistency, gently fold back in the hare, and serve on top of the pappardelle. Finish with a good grating of fresh parmesan