Rabbit, Prune, and Onion Pie

Ingredients

• Savory pie dough, for double crust deep pie, preferably lard-based
• 1 whole white rabbit, skinned, 3 1/2 to 4 pounds, broken down into 8 pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 glass dry sherry or vermouth
• 1 1/5 quarts low-sodium chicken broth, preferably home made
• 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled, divided
• 3 stalks celery, peeled, divided
• 6 sprigs thyme, divided
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 16 pearl or small cippolini onions, peeled
• 12 prunes, pitted and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 pound root vegetables cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 tablespoon finely minced parsley

Directions

1. Sprinkle the rabbit pieces with salt and pepper, then coat them lightly with all purpose flour. Warm the vegetable oil in a large, heavy-bottomed stock pot over medium high heat until it is barely smoking. Add the rabbit and brown it thoroughly, turning as needed, 6 to 10 minutes total. If the pot smokes too much or the browned bits on the bottom start getting too dark, turn the heat down.
2. Pour in the sherry or vermouth, then use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Cook the liquid down until about 2 tablespoons remain. Add the chicken stock, the onion, 1 carrot, 2 stalks of celery, 3 thyme sprigs, the bay leaves, the fennel seeds, the coriander seeds, and the black pepper. Bring everything up to a boil, lower it to a gentle simmer, and cook for 45 minutes, skimming now and then.
3. Use tongs to lift out the rabbit pieces, then let them cool just enough to handle. Pull the meat from the bones, tear it into 1-inch pieces, and refrigerate it for later. Put the bones back into the stock and keep it at a simmer for another 1 1/2 hours, adding hot water when needed so the bones stay mostly covered.
4. Pour the stock through a strainer into a large bowl and throw away the solids; you should end up with about 1 quarts of stock. In a 10-inch heavy-bottomed sautee pan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat until the foaming settles down. Add the onions, lower the heat, and cook them slowly, stirring often, until they are very tender and deeply caramelized. The centers may slip out a bit, and that is fine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Cut the remaining carrots and celery into 1/2-inch pieces. Strip the leaves from the remaining thyme sprigs.
6. In a large stockpot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring often, until it smells nutty and turns golden brown. Whisking the whole time, gradually pour in the stock, then bring it to a boil. Let it simmer until it thickens and cooks down to 3 cups. Stir in the rabbit, onions, diced carrots, diced celery, thyme leaves, prunes, root vegetables, and parsley. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper. Chill the filling in the refrigerator until it is completely cool.
7. Move an oven rack to the lower middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roll the pie dough as directed in its recipe, then fit the bottom crust into a deep dish pie plate, small casserole, or large cast-iron skillet. Spoon in the filling, lay the top crust over it, and seal the edges. Make vents in the top with a knife or the tines of a fork. Bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and keep baking until the crust is golden brown and the filling is hot all the way through, 45 minutes to 1 hour longer. Let the pie cool a little before slicing and serving.