Whipped potato with rabbit and wild mushrooms

Serves 4

(Jason Lowe)

We originally planned this dish to be a Portobello mushroom with wild rabbit, but when we got to Moscow there was a distinct lack of mushrooms, so I added a buttery mashed potato base.

2 medium-sized potatoes for mashing (300-350g), peeled and quartered
About 200g butter
Milk to mix
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
The saddle fillets from 2 wild rabbits
A little vegetable oil for frying
200g wild mushrooms, cleaned and cut into even-sized pieces
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
2tbsp chopped parsley

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water, then drain and return to the pan over a low heat for a minute or so to evaporate any excess water. Mash the potatoes in a potato ricer or with a masher as smoothly as possible. Mix in lots of butter, about 150g, and enough milk to give the potato a smooth, almost sauce-like, consistency. Season to taste and keep warm.

Heat a couple of knobs of butter in a frying pan and fry the mushrooms and garlic for 2-3 minutes, seasoning them halfway through cooking and turning them with a spoon. Stir in the parsley and keep warm.

While the mushrooms are cooking, season the rabbit fillets, heat a little vegetable oil in a frying pan and cook the fillets for 2-3 minutes, turning them as they are cooking and keeping them nice and pink.

To serve, slice the fillets into 3-4 pieces, spoon the potato on to the centre of warmed serving plates and spread it out with the back of a spoon. Spoon the mushrooms over the potato and arrange the fillets on top.