I’ve once again ordered some rabbit from our local Food Assembly, and this time the courier didn’t have an accident, which is good for everyone!

I’m going to do another pie, but for some variety I’m going to do a pot pie topped with American biscuits, similar to this chicken pot pie I did some time ago.

I’m making the pie filling a day ahead. I’m starting with the now familiar method of frying off the seasoned meat with pancetta, removing from the pan, deglazing with whatever alcohol I have on hand (port, as it turns out), then adding mire poix with added garlic and leak. Then stock, white wine vinegar & cream, plus some frozen peas. This goes into the fridge until the next day.

The biscuits I’m making with proper buttermilk from the Food Assembly (proper leftover liquid from making butter, rather than the soured skimmed milk you get in supermarkets). I’m following a Cook’s Illustrated recipe for ‘drop’ biscuits, which means you don’t need to bother with lots of rolling out, which is find for biscuits that will be topping a pie. As I need to halve the amounts (to make six biscuits) and translate from cups and cubits, here’s what I’ll need:

• 5oz plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of (baking) soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 60g butter, melted and cooled a bit

Method is simple: whisk dry stuff together in one bowl, whisk wet stuff together in another bowl, then combine just before cooking.

As the biscuits will finish off on top of the pie I’m going to reduce the time and temperature of the baking to 10 minutes at 220C (not the fan oven as that’s making bread right now!).

I’ll warm the filling in the oven at 160C fan for 20 minutes before topping with the biscuits and turning up to 180C fan for 15 minutes to finish the biscuits.

I’ll serve with green veg, and mashed Vitelotte potatoes (once again from the food assembly. Oh, made with some buttermilk from the Food Assembly too!): they’re purple!

Serve with green veg.

Purple potatoes… are purple, but taste like potatoes. But still: purple!

Rabbit… taste like chicken thighs, but the texture is different. Tougher, but without tasting like tough chicken…  if that makes any sense.

Biscuits: totally winning. These are a delicious topping for a pie.

Overall: hugely tasty, and amazingly filling. As in: it actually filled me up! (for reference: £80 of Dominos pizza doesn’t fill me up…).

The basic mix of mire poix, meat, biscuit topping will definitely be done again.