Sierra de Ayllón in Guadalajara has some of the most beautiful panoramic views of the province of La Mancha, bordering Madrid and Segovia in an impressive natural setting. It is in these beautiful valleys where some villages stand out for their beauty, the so-called black villages. Some of these towns are Umbralejo, Valverde de los Arroyos or Majaelrayo.
It is in these lands, included within the Sierra Norte Natural Park, that many recipes emerged over the centuries adapted to the harsh conditions of these mountains. Hare with beans is one of those traditional dishes since hunting this animal was indispensable for the survival of the population throughout the year. A simple recipe but full of flavour that will not leave anyone indifferent.
Ingredients for hare with beans
For hare stew:
- 1 hare not too big or 1 rabbit
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 onion
- 1 glass of red wine
- 1/2 chilli
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt and pepper
For the bean stew:
- 1/2 kg of white beans
- 1 leek
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic
- 1 carrot
- 1 bay leaf
- Olive oil
- Salt
- 1 spoonful of paprika
Preparation of Hare with Beans
- First of all, to start cooking the beans, you must put them into a conventional or pressure cooker having left them overnight in water beforehand. Add enough water to cover them, plus a little salt, the leek, garlic, onion, carrot, paprika, bay leaf and a good splash of olive oil.
- Let them cook long enough until they are done, in an express cooker they will not take more than 15-20 minutes while in a conventional one they will take about 1 hour. While the beans are cooking, prepare the hare stew.
- The hare (or the rabbit if it is not) must be clean and cut into large pieces. Put a saucepan on a medium-high heat with a good splash of oil and add the hare seasoned with salt and pepper. Brown well all over and remove from the pan.
- Once the hare is ready, add the garlic and onion, cut into pieces, and start frying them in the same oil in which the hare was browned.
- When the vegetables are golden, put the hare back with its juices, adding the wine, chilli and bay leaf. Also add enough water to cover the hare and then let it boil slowly for 2 hours and 30 minutes or until the meat is tender. It can also be prepared in an express cooker, reducing the cooking time of the hare by half.
- After these two different processes, you have the essentials to finish the recipe. Drain the beans, remove the vegetables and mash them with a little water from the cooking of the beans.
- Finally add the drained beans to the pan with the hare, also adding the vegetable puree. Let everything cook together for 15 minutes to mix the flavours.
- All that is left is to rectify the seasoning with salt, pepper and spices if desired. Now all that remains is to enjoy these delicious hare with beans typical of northern Guadalajara!
