Hare is not a commodity you see very often but in a decent local butchers they turn up now and again. This recipe has a real old English feel to it. the beetroot and the beer make a wonderfully fruity sauce with the gamey flavours of the hare.
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Remove the loins from the saddle of hare, strip off any silverskin and place them on a tray then season them and refrigerate whilst preparing the sauce and the vegetables.
Chop up the bones and roast of with a little mirepoix of vegetables, place in a saucepan, any fat from the roasting dish and discard. Deglace the tray with water into the saucepan and top up with water about 1 litre.
Cook this stock for about two hours.
Cook the beetroot in salted water until soft, refresh and cut into small batons. Reheat in butter with small diced chilli and set aside.
Grate the potato, season with salt and pepper and fry in a heavy based frying pan as for rösti. Peel and segment the orange.
Strain off the stock and reduce by half add the beer and allow to reduce a little more, taste adjust seasoning and sweeten with some of the brown sugar. Allow to dissolve then add the orange segments and allow to infuse.
Heat up the oil in a large frying pan and cook the hare loin for 5-6 minutes, remove to a carving board and allow to rest. Rest for ten minutes whilst getting the plates ready.
To serve arrange the rösti on warmed plates next to the beetroot, then quickly cook the spinach in a little butter with nutmeg and garlic. Place this spinach on the other side of the potato. Carve the meat and layer in a circle on top of the potato rösti.
Spoon the sauce over the dish and decorate with some of the orange segments, a sprig of chervil and a poached baby leek.
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