Hare Soup

Ingredients

• 1 hare, fresh-killed
• 450 g lean gravy beef
• 1 slice ham
• 1 carrot
• 2 onion
• 1 faggot savoury herbs
• 7 g whole black pepper
• little browned flour
• 150 ml port wine
• 2 crumb of French rolls
• to taste salt
• to taste cayenne pepper
• 1.4 litres water

Method

Reserve the hare's liver and blood immediately after skinning — both are essential to the soup's depth. The liver will be pounded into a paste to enrich the broth at the finish; the blood acts as a stock-building agent, its iron and proteins adding body and colour that long simmering alone cannot achieve. Cut the hare into large pieces, roughly 5 cm at the joint. This isn't for show — larger pieces prevent the meat from collapsing into the broth and turning the finished soup into grit. Tie the ham, carrot, onions, and herb faggot together with twine so you can retrieve them whole later.

Brown the flour in a dry pan over moderate heat until it's dark walnut-coloured, moving it constantly to avoid burning. This braising foundation is what anchors the soup's flavour — raw flour tastes starchy and flat. Layer the hare, beef, ham bundle, browned flour, black pepper, and crumb in the stewpan with the water and port. The crumb dissolves into the broth, thickening it gently without the grip of a roux; it also buffers acidity. Bring to a simmer over moderate heat, then reduce to the lowest possible flame. Eight hours is not arbitrary — collagen from the bones and connective tissue needs this time to slow-cooking|denature into gelatin. You're after a barely-moving surface, with one or two lazy bubbles rising every few seconds. Too vigorous a simmer will cloud the broth and make the meat fibrous.

At the end, the meat should fall from the bone with a spoon and the liquid should coat the back of a ladle. Strain through a fine sieve into a clean pot, pressing gently on the solids to extract the gelatin without pushing through debris. Discard the spent vegetables and ham. Return the best hare pieces — the saddle, hindquarters, anything intact — to the strained broth. Pound the reserved liver with a pinch of cayenne, salt, and a few tablespoons of the hot soup until you have a smooth paste, then whisk this into the pot off the heat. The liver emulsifies into the broth, darkening it to deep mahogany and adding an almost savoury richness that ties the game meat's musky notes together. Taste and season with cayenne and salt. Serve in deep bowls with the hare pieces distributed evenly and plenty of broth.