its official the kooky cook has moved home to the big smoke ( well the suburbs living in her family home with her parents ) But now that I am back home , I am readjusting to Dublin life there are pros and cons to being back ,
pros public transport on your doorstep , the local shop stocks "exotic" things like coconut milk and limoncello , there is no smell of slurry or slatted sheds wafting around .
Cons there is not the supply of wild rabbit that there is in Wexford .
One of the last meals I cooked in Wexford was rabbit stew
, in this instance it was two rabbits , which have been languishing in my freezer for the last couple of months .
So thus inspired I invited our local friendly German over for a rabbit cook off .
Since the German was around we got a bit distracted discussing important fiscal matters and drinking wine and and forgot to take photos.
The stew given here can be seen in the back round of the photo
But the recipe is clear in my head , so here it goes
Rabbit is the poor mans chicken , it was very common meat to be eaten up until the last century , when chicken took over . Many people are scared of the the little bones in rabbit , but in my opinion they are no worse then chicken . It is a slightly bland , gamey meat and need to be cooked either super hot on the BBQ , or low and slow in the oven . It also does very well with a marinade .
Angela Merkel Rabbit Stew
Ingredients
One jointed rabbit
marinade
500ml of butter milk
bay leaf
mustard seeds
black peppercorns
stew
two onions sliced into half moons
three carrots sliced in batons
2 tablespoons of flour
white pepper
oregano
garlic salt
paprika
glass of white /or beer
800 ml chicken stock
handful of frozen peas
three tablespoons of cream
- This is the first rabbit I have received in one piece , so I had to joint him . I used this Jamie Oliver video as a guide .
- place jointed rabbit into a bowl pour over butter milk . The butter milk is inspired by the Germans grandmother who by all account is a dab hand at cooking rabbit Add , bay leaves , mustard seeds , pepper ( no salt) . leave to marinated in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
- wipe marinade from rabbit piece and set aside .
- Place 4-5 tablespoons of flour into a large zip lock bag and add seasoning
- Shake the bunny around in the bag to get a good coating of flour and seasoning
- Place a thick bottom pan over a medium heat and add a good slosh of olive oil and a equal quantities of butter .Fry off the rabbit pieces until they are golden and have a slight crust on them . This took me about ten minutes or so .
- Remove the meat to a plate and allow to rest
- add your sliced onions , carrot batons and Bacon lardons , and cook until the onions have become translucent and the bacon fat has rendered
- throw in a big squeeze of tomato puree and stir around to coat the veg
- add a slosh of white or beer ( in this instance some wine ) to make a paste , then add in your chicken stock
- return the rabbit pieces to the stew pot and let it blip away over a low heat for about an hour
- about ten minute before you serve throw in a handful of frozen peas , this adds sweetness and colour
- stir in cream just before you serve up to give a finish to the sauce
- Serve with mashed potatoes and braised red cabbage .
