Hare pate

Take 250 grams of pork flesh, pound it with the same amount of bacon and the flesh from the hare's shoulders, well stripped of its sinews; season and pass through a sieve. Meanwhile, divide into strips the flesh of the loins and thighs after trimming them; put them into an earthenware dish with a few strips of bacon and a little ham cut the same way, 5 or 6 peeled truffles cut into 4; season with salt, pepper and mixed spice, sprinkle with a small glass of cognac and twice as much madeira; mix well and let marinate a few hours.

Put into a frying pan 100 g of butter, brown in it 150 g of ham and the hare's liver. Add a chopped shallot, sprinkle with a glass of madeira and let reduce by half; pound then in a mortar, pass through a sieve and mix into the forcemeat.

With pastry prepared one or two hours before, following the method given in the relevant article, line a greased mould, applying this pastry well against the sides so that it takes the shape of the mould; put all around and at the bottom a centimetre-thick layer of forcemeat, arrange in it a layer of strips of hare, bacon, truffles and ham, cover with forcemeat, make another layer like the first and finish the pate with a layer of forcemeat. Cover with a sheet of pastry, seal it to the pastry of the mould after moistening the edges. Cut off the excess pastry very evenly and pinch the edges with a pastry pincer. Glaze with beaten egg; make an opening 2 centimetres in diameter in the middle of the pate, insert into this opening a small rolled card to act as a chimney. It is through this that the steam and fat, which without this precaution would make the pastry burst, must escape during cooking. It takes 2 hours to cook a medium pate. Once cooked and cooled, pour in an aspic jelly.