MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.02

      Title: Lievre A La Royale Pt 2
 Categories: Main dish, French, Game, Cerebral
      Yield: 8 Servings

  Second Operation (to be carried out during the first cooking of the
  hare)

  First chop exceedingly finely the four following ingredients,
  chopping each one separately:

     (i)  1 lb Bacon
    (ii)       Heart, liver, and lungs
   (iii) 10 c  Garlic
    (iv) 20 cl Shallot

  The chopping of the garlic and the shallots must be so fine that
  each of them attain as nearly as possible a molecular state. This
  is one of the first conditions of success of this marvellous dish,
  in which the multiple and diverse perfumes and aromas melt into a
  whole so harmonious that neither one dominates, nor discloses its
  particular origin and so arouse some preconceived prejudice,
  however regrettable. The bacon, the insides of the hare, the
  garlic, and shallots being chopped very fine, and separately, blend
  them all together thoroughly, so as to obtain an absolutely perfect
  mixture. Keep this mixture aside.

  Third operation (from four o'clock until a quarter to seven).

  At four o'clock. Remove the stewpan fiom the fire. Take the hare
  out very delicately; put it on a dish. Then remove all the debris
  of the bacon, carrot, onions, garlic, shallot, which may be
  clinging to it; return these debris to the pan. The Sauce. Now
  take a large deep dish and a sieve. Empty the contents of the pan
  into the sieve, which you have placed over the dish; with a small
  wooden pestle pound the contents of the sieve, extracting all the
  juice, which forms a coulis in the dish. Mixing the coulis and the
  hachis (the chopped mixture). Now comes the moment to make use of
  the mixture which was the subject of the second operation.
  Incorporate this into the coulis.

  Heat the half bottle of wine left over from the first operation.

  Pour this hot wine into the mixture of coulis and bachis and stir
  the whole well together. "At half past four. Return to the stewpan:
   (i) the mixture of coulis and hachis,
  (ii) the hare, together with any of the bones which may have become
       detached during the cooking.

  Return the pan to the stove, with the same gentle and regular fire
  underneath and on the top, for another 1-1/2 hours' cooking.

  At six o'clock. As the excess of fat, issuing from the necessary
  quantity of bacon, will prevent you from judging the state of the
  sauce, you must now proceed to operate a first removal of the fat.
  Your work will not actually be completed until the sauce has become
  sufficiently amalgamated to attain a consistence approximating to
  that of a puree of potatoes; not quite, however, for if you tried
  to make it too thick, you would end by so reducing it that there
  would not be sufficient to moisten the flesh (by nature dry) of the
  hare. Your hare having therefore had the fat removed, can continue
  to cook, still on a very slow fire, until the moment comes for you
  to add the blood which you have reserved with the utmost care as
  has already been instructed.

  'Fourth Operation (quarter of an hour before serving)

  At quarter to seven. The amalgamation of the sauce proceeding
  successfully, a fourth and last operation will finally and rapidly
  bring it to completion. Addition of the blood to the hare. With
  the addition of the blood, not only will you hasten the
  amalgamation of the sauce but also give it a fine brown colour; the
  darker it is the more appetizing. This addition of the blood should
  not be made more than 30 minutes before serving; it must also be
  preceded by a second removal of the fat. Therefore, effectively
  remove the fat; after which, without losing a minute, turn to the
  operation of adding the blood.
   (i) Whip the blood with a fork, until, if any of it has become
       curdled, it is smooth again. (Note: the optional addition of
       the brandy mentioned at the beginning helps to prevent the
       curdling of the blood.)
  (ii) Pour the blood into the sauce, taking care to stir the
       contents of the pan from top to bottom and from right to left,
       so that the blood will penetrate into every corner of the pan.
  Now taste; add pepper and salt if necessary. A little later
  (45 minutes at a maximum) get ready to serve.

  Arrangememts for serving 'At seven o'clock. Remove from the pan your
  hare, whose volume by this time has naturally somewhat shrunk. At
  any rate, in the centre of the serving disb, place all that still
  has the consistency of meat, the bones, entirely denuded, and now
  useless, being thrown away, and now finally around this hare en
  compote pour the admirable sauce which has been so carefully
  created. Needless to say (concludes the senator) that to use a
  knife to serve the hare would be a sacrilege. A spoon alone is
  amply sufficient.

  * times are given for a dinner to be served at seven o'clock.

  ** In spite of the enormous quantity of garlic and shallots which
  enter into the composition of lievre a la royale, the remarkable
  fact is that to a certain extent the two ingredients cancel each
  other out, so that the uninitiated would hardly suspect their
  presence.

  Recipe by Senator Couteaux, Le Temps, 29 Nov 1898
  Typed by: IMH Georges, Home BBS 2:323/4.4

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