We had this tonight, either this was an exceptionally tender rabbit, or the recipe was just fab. I think the latter. As it was midweek, I did my trick of doing the main cooking last night, and then reheating and cooking for another 15 minutes tonight.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 rabbit, jointed
- seasoned flour
- 50g butter
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
- 1 cooking apple, peeled and diced
- 1 good pinch of dried thyme leaves
- a good grating of nutmeg
- 2 bay leaves
- 200g pancetta or diced smoked streaky bacon
- 300ml dry cider
- salt and pepper
METHOD:
- Heat the butter in a saucepan, and fry the chopped apples, onions, bacon and celery together. When the onion is soft and beginning to brown, set aside, and add the herbs and nutmeg.
- Dip the rabbit in the seasoned flour. Add a little more butter to the pan and fry the rabbit until the joints are browned.
- Add the cider and the fried onion mixture, bring to a simmer and season to taste.
- Cover and put into an oven heated to 150C for around an hour and a half.
We served this with mashed potatoes and braised cabbage. It would be excellent with parsnips too.