Rabbit pâté

When you live in the country, sometimes you can be given a rabbit completely out of the blue. Two rabbits, in fact. Ever since my parents moved out of the city to a nearby village, fulfilling their dream of living in a house of their own, they occasionally receive gifts like that.

It’s nice, because it means they’ve become part of the local community, where, looking on from a little distance, I can see that the tradition of bartering is still alive.

There’s also a general tradition of being kind to your neighbours (though not everyone necessarily follows it). Thanks to that, my parents unexpectedly receive food that city dwellers have to buy from so-called health food or organic shops.

That’s how Dad came to be given two already skinned rabbits, which he turned into pâté. Actually, Mum made it, but Dad minced the meat, so he asked me to mention that he played a part too. Do you still remember my dad’s festive pork pâté? Well, this one will be Mum and Dad’s. And definitely rabbit pâté.

Chance also gave me the opportunity to taste it: Ninka had her seventh birthday on Friday, and my parents came to Warsaw for the occasion, bringing their creations (including roast rabbit, which features in the other recipe). Having tasted it, I have to admit that although I like pâté, I like this one even more. Though, to be completely honest, it rarely happens to me, but with rabbit I somehow immediately picture what I’m eating. And, well… The pâté isn’t quite as sweet as that image, but it certainly is delicate and velvety. Perhaps just like the fur and nature of a sweet little bunny.

So I wouldn’t recommend it for every day, but for a special occasion, such as Christmas, it’s ideal. It fits. So I do recommend it.

Recipe details:

Preparation time: 2.5 hours

Baking time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Baking temperature: 190 degrees Celsius

Serves: a generous amount for a small party

Calories: it’s pâté, so yes, it has some

Ingredients for a delicate rabbit pâté:

• 1 rabbit (jointed into front legs, hind legs, carcass, etc.)
• 60 dekagrams chicken livers 
• 70 dekagrams pork loin
• 30 dekagrams pork back fat
• half a celeriac
• 1 medium parsley root
• 2 medium carrots
• 2 hen’s eggs
• 2 bay leaves
• ground black pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic
• dried lovage
• dried herbes de Provence
• dried thyme
• nutmeg
• salt

Recipe for rabbit pâté — and more besides:

Put all the meat ingredients (the rabbit jointed into hind legs, carcass, front legs…, plus the chicken livers, pork back fat and pork loin) into a large pot, add the bay leaves and cover with water. Cook until tender. This takes about two hours. An hour after cooking begins, add the carrots, parsley root and half the celeriac.

Once the meat and vegetables are tender, let them cool and remove the rabbit meat from the bones. After deboning the rabbit, put all the ingredients (the meat, liver and vegetables — carrot and celeriac) through a mincer twice.

Season the minced meat to taste with pepper, lovage, herbes de Provence, nutmeg, thyme and salt. Add two hen’s eggs and mix thoroughly.

Transfer the mixture to a roasting tin lined with baking paper. Arrange thin (very thin) slices of pork back fat on top. Bake in an oven preheated to 190 degrees Celsius for about an hour and ten minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool. The rabbit pâté is ready. Exceptionally delicate and healthy. Enjoy!