Tag: rabbit

Braised Rabbit with pappardelle

I have a source of rabbit at the moment, so I am getting to try out a stash of rabbit recipes. We had this at the weekend and it was spectacular. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • Olive oil
  • 1 rabbit, jointed
  • 100g smoked pancetta
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 large sprig of rosemary, strip off the leaves and chop
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • salt and pepper
  • 150ml white wine
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • 5 portions of pasta e.g. pappardelle, tagliatelle
  • 1 tsp bitter marmalade
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 100ml double cream
  • a bunch of parsley, finely chopped
  • grated parmesan

METHOD:

  • Heat the oil in a casserole dish, and brown the rabbit joints in stages, and set aside. 
  • In the same pan/oil fry the onion, bacon and carrot together over a low heat until soft. Add the garlic, rosemary and tomato puree and cook for another couple of minutes
  • Pour in the wine, stock and add the rabbit, with a pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Cover and simmer for an hour and a half, until the rabbit is tender and coming off the bone. You may need to simmer for longer, depending on how tender the rabbit is. 
  • Remove the rabbit from the pan, and let it cool. Shred the meat from the bone. 
  • Meanwhile, keep the heat under the pan to reduce the sauce for five minutes or so. 
  • Put the pasta water on to boil, and start cooking the pasta according to the instructions. 
  • Add the meat back into the sauce along with the mustard, cream, parsley and marmalade, and stir to heat through and mix. Check the seasoning. 
  • When the pasta is done, add it to the sauce, stir to mix and serve with grated parmesan. 

A note on quantities of pasta. For a very hungry busy person, allow up to 100g. We usually find that 50g of pasta is plenty for one person. 

Rabbit risotto with olives

More rabbit recipes. This one is from Risotto Risotto by Valentina Harris. There are some risotto basics that crop up. Adding the ingredients one by one, and letting them cook together allows the flavours to build. Many of the meat risottos involve making a rich stew, and then adding the risotto rice and the stock, bit by bit. 

I allow around 60g risotto rice per serving, and multiply by 3 to get the volume of stock in ml. For example, for 100g rice, use 300ml stock. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 rabbit, jointed and rinsed
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 celery stick, finely chopped
  • 1 large handful of fresh parsley, chopped
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 200g chopped pancetta or streaky bacon
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 glass red wine
  • around 20 small black olives, chopped. 
  • a pinch of dried oregano
  • salt and pepper
  • 400g risotto rice
  • 1.2 litres of chicken or vegetable stock, simmering 

METHOD:

  • Fry the onion, celery, pancetta and parsley in the olive oil over a low heat, until the onion is soft
  • Add the rabbit and brown it all over. 
  • Mix the tomato puree and wine together, and stir it in, with the olives, oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer over a low heat or cook in a low oven for an hour and a half, until the rabbit is really tender. Add stock to ensure that the stew does not stick or dry out. 
  • Let the stew cool, and strip the rabbit meat from the bones. Cut larger sections of meat into pieces the size of a walnut. Return to the stew and bring it back to a simmer
  • Add all of the rice, and stir to coat all the grains. Cook over a gentle heat, and add the stock a ladleful at a time, Make sure the rice absorbs the stock before adding the next ladleful.
  • After about 20 minutes the rice will be cooked. Remove the risotto from the heat, and let it stand for a couple of minutes before serving. 

Rabbit and chorizo stew

If you need a tasty dish for rabbit, look no further. I found it useful to have a mouli for the sauce. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 tbsp olive oil for frying
  • Approx 200g raw chorizo sausages
  • 1 rabbit, jointed
  • 200g cherry tomatoes, or home grown tomatoes
  • 4 colves of garlic
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp hot paprika
  • 2 pointed red peppers, halved and grilled to char the skin
  • 200 ml light stock (chicken, vegetable or rabbit)
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

METHOD:

  • In a large frying pan with a lid, heat the olive oil to a low/moderate heat. Fry the chorizo until the fat runs. Remove it from the pan, and set aside.
  • Season the rabbit with salt and pepper, and fry until browned on all sides, around 5 minutes
  • Put the tomatoes, garlic and paprika in a blender and blitz. Then put the mixture through a mouli to get rid of any seeds. 
  • Add the tomato sauce to the rabbit in the pan, bring to a simmer, and reduce the sauce over a low heat for around 15 minutes. 
  • Remove the charred skin from the peppers, chop them roughly, and add them to the pan, along with the chorizo and stock, and bring back to a simmer.
  • Cover the pan and cook slowly for around an hour, until the rabbit is falling from the bone. Strip the meat from the bones, and put it back into the stew. 
  • Just before serving, mix the parsley, lemon and olive oil and drizzle over the stew. 

I’m not sure what you are meant to serve this with, we had potatoes. 

Rabbit with aubergines

I have been given some fresh local tender rabbits to cook, and I’m very excited. I don’t have many go-to recipes for rabbit, so I am trying some out. I’m hoping to get more and try out a Spanish recipe that uses chorizo. This time I went with an Italian vibe.

INGREDIENTS:

  •  1 rabbit, cut into five (2 front legs, 2 back legs, one saddle)
  • 30g butter
  • 30g pancetta or diced streaky bacon
  • 1 stick of celery, finely chopped
  • 1/2 can chopped tomatoes
  • 1 clove of garlic, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp dried marjoram, or a handful of fresh marjoram
  • Salt and pepper
  • A glass of dry sherry, or Marsala wine
  • Water or stock
  • A small aubergine, cut into 2cm cubes, set in a colander and salted
  • One red sweet pepper, or a pimento for preference, sliced into strips

METHOD:

  • Heat the butter in the bottom of a braising pan or shallow casserole dish. Fry the bacon and the celery together.
  • As the fat starts to run from the bacon, add the rabbit to the pan and turn the pieces over to let them brown. 
  • Add the tomatoes, chopped garlic, marjoram and salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, before adding the Marsala. Bring back to a simmer and reduce by half. 
  • Add water or stock so that the rabbit is just about covered, put the lid on the pan and simmer for around half an hour.
  • Rinse the salted aubergine, and add to the top of the pan. Continue to cook for another 20 minutes, and then add the sliced red pepper. Cook for another ten minutes. 

We served this with potatoes, because we have a lot of them. I would think that polenta would be an excellent accompaniment. 

Hot Lightning with rabbit (Hete Bliksem)

This is a recipe introduced to me by one of my daughters, thanks to one of her boyfriends. I believe it is Dutch in origin.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 3 local wild rabbits, skinned and gutted, soaked in salty water, then jointed
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 60g butter
  • 60ml water
  • salt and pepper
  • 4 apples (Braeburn or similar)
  • 8 floury potatoes (general cooking variety)
  • more butter and/or cream
  • 1 egg
  • nutmeg

METHOD:

  • Set the oven to 160C
  • Cook the onion and garlic in 60g butter over a medium heat, when they are transparent, add the jointed rabbit, salt and pepper, and brown the rabbit. Add a little water and bring to a simmer
  • Put the pan in the oven for an hour and a half, covered with tin foil. The rabbit should be tender. For the last ten minutes, remove the foil. 
  • Take the rabbit out of the oven, and when it is cool enough, strip off the meat and put it into an oven-safe dish
  • Meanwhile, peel and chop the potatoes and apples. Put the potatoes in a saucepan and just cover with water, and season with salt. Cover with a layer of apples, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. 
  • Strain off the water, put the cooked apple over the rabbit in the dish with a grating of nutmeg. Roughly mash the potatoes with salt, pepper, you can add butter or cream or egg for a softer mash. 
  • Put the mashed potatoes over the rabbit meat, and cook in a hot oven (180C) for around 20 minutes before serving.

I think adding bacon is allowed. Serve with a good green vegetable.