Recipe – French Rabbit Ballotine, Octopus & Fennel Salad – Club Gascon Michelin Star Restuarant

France, the country of romance and the origins of fine dining.

Having trained with French master chefs Gerard Vie, Alain Dutournier and Guy Savoy, Pascal Aussignac has been Head Chef at Club Gascon in London since its opening. He is fully committed to maintaining the highest standards of freshness and authenticity. But this is not all, because Club Gascon ensures that what makes their food even more special is: Love.

Ingredients:

OCTOPUS

• 1 octopus (You may want to buy already cooked octopus.)
• 2 carrots
• 2 onions
• 1 orange
• 5g fennel seeds
• 5g coriander seeds

SQUID & CHORIZO CHUTNEY(optional)

• 300g squid
• 100g chorizo
• 200g shallots
• 100g dried figs
• 100g dried apricots
• 100g mushrooms
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 100g port

FENNEL SAUCE

• 250g confit fennel
• 20g black treacle
• 30g olive oil
• 400-500g water
• 100g butter
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Seasoning

Method:

RABBIT SADDLE boned and rolled. Use the bones to make a stock. This stock will then be used for the black sauce.

Wrapped in caul fat, pancetta or streaky bacon etc…

Octopus: Wash the octopus, dice the vegetables and orange. In a saucepan add all the ingredients with some salt. (I use 8g per litre) cover with water and a lid, bring to the boil, skim and reduce the heat and gently poach until tender. (45-60 minutes). Leave to cool in the stock. Remove from the stock, trim the legs and discard the head. Place the legs in a lined terrine mould with a touch of the stock and freeze. If you don’t have a terrine you could wrap the legs together with cling film and then freeze. Once frozen slice thinly and reserve.

Squid and chorizo chutney: Finely dice the squid, shallots, chorizo, figs, apricots, garlic and mushrooms.

Sauté the chorizo in a large saucepan and when the fat starts to run, stir in the shallots, mushrooms and dried fruits. Cook for 5 minutes, add the port, stock and thyme. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the squid and cook for 5 more minutes. Take off the heat and adjust the seasoning. This will keep for 5 days in a jar in your fridge.

Confit fennel: Cut the fennel into quarters, place in an ovenproof dish with the rest of ingredients. Cover with foil and bake at 120°C for 1 hour until tender.

Fennel sauce: Finely chop the confit fennel and add to a saucepan with the other ingredients, bring up to heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Then blend all together for at least 5 minutes for a silky sauce. Sieve the sauce and add the pastis, adjust the seasoning and add more butter or treacle to your preferred taste.

Black Sauce: Reduce the stock by half, add the squid ink and adjust the seasoning.

Rabbit: You will need 1 rabbit saddle boned and rolled (ask your butcher to do this) Season your rabbit and roll it in your choice of caul fat or bacon etc. Then wrap it in cling film and steam for 12 minutes. Remove from the cling film and sear the rabbit in a hot pan with a touch of oil and some butter. You could steam the rabbit and chill it for later use, just sear it from the fridge and place in the oven at 180°C for 8-12 minutes.

Fennel salad: Slice the fennel on a mandolin, place in a bowl add lemon juice, olive oil, dill and some octopus and toss. (This should be done last minute to keep the crunch and freshness of the fennel).

Assembly: Warm your sauces and artistically dress your plates. Place a piece of confit fennel, a slice of rabbit and dot the chutney around. Then place the fennel salad on the rabbit to create some elevation to the dish.