For the marinade
1 bottle Chianti Classico
1 head garlic, cut into 4 pieces
1 red onion, quartered
1/2 head celery, cut into 3
6 bay leaves
10 juniper berries
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tablespoons peppercorns
1 small hare, jointed into small pieces (legs and saddle divided into 4 pieces)
4 tablespoons olive oil
flour for dusting
Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 cloves
6 juniper berries
1 cinnamon stick
250 g (9 oz) fresh pappardelle
3 tablespoons double cream
2 tablespoons Parmesan
For six
Place the pieces of hare in a dish large enough to contain all the ingredients of the marinade. Make sure the hare is covered by the wine. Turn over the hare after 24 hours. Leave to marinade for a total of 3 days. Remove the hare from the marinade and pat dry. Strain the liquid and discard the vegetables and spices.
Heat half the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Dust the hare pieces in flour seasoned with salt and pepper, and then fry in the hot oil until evenly browned and well coloured. Remove from the pan and set aside. Pour the remaining oil into the pan, lower the heat, and soften the onion, carrot and celery until they start to caramelise, about 15 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook for a further 15 minutes. Pour in enough marinade to just cover the hare and allow to reduce for a further 10 minutes. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and add the cloves, juniper, cinnamon, salt and pepper and the hare pieces. Cook gently for 1 hour, turning the pieces over from time to time. Add more of the marinade if the liquid in the pan becomes too thick.
After an hour the saddle pieces will be cooked, so remove and put to one side, leaving the legs to cook for a further 30–50 minutes. If the sauce seems dry, add a little boiling water, about 120 ml (4 fl oz). Remove the meat from both the saddle and legs, keeping the two meats separate, and then break into pieces.
Discard the cloves and cinnamon from the sauce. Put the sauce and leg meat through a food mill or into a liquidiser, and pulse until alt the meat has been finely chopped. Put in a saucepan with the cream and saddle meat, heat through and check for seasoning.
Cook the pappardelle. Drain thoroughly, combine with the sauce, and serve immediately with the freshly grated Parmesan.