Method
Preheat the oven to 160.c fan, 180.c conventional.
Set a large heavy based pan over a medium heat. Add a dash of oil followed by the rabbit, trotter and bacon. Allow the meat to brown lightly in the pan. Add the vegetables, thyme, bay, wine and enough water just to cover. Place a lid on the pan and transfer it to the oven. Cook for about 2 to 2½ hours.
Remove the rabbit, pig’s trotter, bacon and carrots from the pan and set them on a plate to cool. Pass the cooking liquor through a fine sieve into a clean pan. Set the pan over a high heat, bring to the boil and reduce the liquid to about 300ml.
Pick the cooled rabbit meat from the bones and shred it with your fingers into a bowl. Pick the skin and any meat from the trotter and place it on a board with the bacon and carrots. Roughly chop everything, then add it to the rabbit along with the chopped parsley and the reduced cooking liquor. Season well with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.
Pack the mixture into a terrine dish, pressing it down firmly and levelling the top as you go. Place the terrine in the fridge and leave it to set overnight.
To serve, remove the terrine from the fridge about 20 minutes before eating. Turn it out carefully and slice thickly. Serve with pickled cucumbers, toast and plenty of whole grain mustard.
