Rabbit And Exotic Mushroom Pot Pie Recipes

EXOTIC MUSHROOM PIZZA

Steps:

• Put pizza stone in oven and heat to 425 degrees. While stone is heating, brush olive oil evenly over shell and bake 5 to 7 minutes or until oil bubbles. (If using thin crust pizza, you can eliminate pre-baking of the pizza crust.)
• While shell bakes begin cooking the mushrooms. Heat saute or fry pan on high heat, add the oil, garlic and shallots and quickly saute for approximately 30 seconds. Do not allow the garlic/shallot mixture to burn.
• Add mushrooms to hot pan, saute quickly until most of the mushroom juices have evaporated (3 to 5 minutes), then add wine. Continue to saute until wine completely evaporates and mushrooms have turned a darker shade or brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove mushroom mixture from heat.
• Remove shell from oven (leave stone in oven to keep it hot) and allow to cool slightly. Spread the gorgonzola cheese evenly over the warm crust so that it melts slightly. You can dip your fingers in olive oil to spread the gorgonzola. Spread the mushroom mixture evenly over the crust. Add the Fontina cheese, distributing it as evenly as possible. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Place on hot stone in oven and bake 12 to 15 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly. Cool and cut into small rectangles for hors d'oeuvres or into pie-shaped pieces for first course or main course portions. Serve warm or at room temperature.
• This recipe can be adjusted to suit personal taste such as adding dried, red hot pepper or use different cheeses; however you should not eliminate the gorgonzola. It can be served with champagne as an hors d'oeuvre and with dry red wine as an appetizer or main course with a tossed salad.

RABBIT AND EXOTIC MUSHROOM POT PIE

Steps:

• For the Rabbit preparation: Let rabbit marinate several hours. In a covered casserole dish, braise rabbit with 1 quart chicken stock in a preheated 400 degree oven for 1 hour or until meat is tender and falling off the bone. Strain the liquid into a saucepan. Pick the meat from the rabbit and dice it into 1/2-inch squares. Set aside.
• For the Rabbit Sauce: Combine the above ingredients, except for roux and reduce by half. Thicken with roux. Adjust thickness with reserved strained rabbit braising liquid, if needed. Continue to reduce until mixture is thick and coats a spoon. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Strain and set aside.
• To make roux: Heat butter in a small saucepan and add flour, stirring constantly for a few minutes until thick and creamy, but not brown.
• For the Filling: Combine ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Add 2 cups rabbit sauce. Mix well. Keep warm until ready to assemble.
• For the Pumpkin Shells: Cut off top of pumpkin so that the seeds are exposed. Scoop out all of the seeds and soft flesh until you have what resembles a small bowl (be careful not to put a hole in the bottom of each pumpkin). In a preheated 350 degree F oven, place pumpkins cut side down on a sheet pan. Bake the pumpkin for 15 minutes or until it is cooked, but not collapsed. Turn them over cut side up to cool. Set aside until ready to use.
• For the Pastry: On a floured surface, cut 4 (2 1/2-inch) rounds from pastry. Set aside.
• To assemble: Place pumpkins on a baking sheet. Fill insides with rabbit-mushroom mixture. Top with pastry lid. Brush with egg. Arrange 1 mushroom on top of each lid.
• Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until perfectly golden brown.
• Serve at once, garnished with wild mushrooms and watercress sprigs around potpie.
• This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The FN chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.

RABBIT AND VEGETABLE POT PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a large saute pan. Lightly flour rabbit pieces and brown in batches in the oil. Remove rabbit and set aside. In the same pan, lightly brown the shallots, garlic and onions in oil remaining in the pan. Add mushrooms, carrot, turnip and celery and cook for a minute more. Stir in tomato paste and tarragon. Add the wine and brandy and simmer for five minutes to reduce.
• Transfer to an ovenproof 10-quart stock pot. Add the stock, bouquet garni, tomatoes and browned rabbit and bring to a boil. Cover and cook in a preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.
• Remove rabbit and vegetables to a platter, reserving all liquid in pot; discard the bouquet garni. Debone rabbit, keeping pieces of meat as large as possible. Divide the meat among eight individual two-cup casseroles. Distribute cooked vegetables and raw peas evenly among the casseroles.
• Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve into a pot. Reduce it over high heat to about four cups. Strain the liquid again, return to pot and whisk in the cornstarch mixture, a teaspoon at a time. Cook it until the sauce is very thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide the sauce among the casseroles. (Casseroles can be prepared up to this point and refrigerated overnight.)
• To finish the pot pies, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out the puff pastry an eighth of an inch thick. Cut into rounds an inch larger in diameter than the casseroles. Place pastry rounds on top of casseroles and crimp to sides; brush pastry with beaten eggs. Bake until pastry is golden brown, about 30 minutes.