rabbit in white wine and lentil stew with garlic dumplings

For the veggies who read this- my apologies for the meat-feast nature of the last few posts. For those who have a problem with eating bunnies because they are cute- I make no apology.

Rabbit is a great meat, slightly gamier than chicken (although this also depends on whether the rabbit is a buck or a doe and how old it is) it has a sweetness and is cheap too, it is amazing slow cooked. I wanted to make something reminiscent of the rabbit braised in white wine that I ate at the Crooked Billet and I was quite pleased with the result. Don’t be tempted to try and joint the rabbit or de-bone it as it can be much easier done once cooked.

rabbit in white wine and lentil stew with garlic dumplings

serves 4 generously

• 1 medium sized rabbit
• 1/2 cup of red lentils and 1/2 cup green lentils or 1  cup broth mix
• 1 onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 pints chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
• 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 2 leeks, sliced
• 1 sprig thyme
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil

for the dumplings:

• 60g shredded suet
• 120g self-raising flour
• 1 clove garlic
• pinch of salt
• 6tbsps cold water

Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy based pan and soften the onion and garlic on a low heat. Add the whole rabbit and brown on each side. Rinse the lentils in a sieve and chop and wash the leeks.

Add all the remaining ingredients to the pot and bring to the boil. Put a lid on and simmer on a low heat for 1.5 hours, stirring every now and then to stop anything sticking to the bottom. In the meantime make the dumplings. Crush the garlic and salt together with the back of a knife. Mix the flour, suet and crushed garlic and add to it enough cold water to make a soft dough. Make into 8 balls with floured hands and after the 1.5hours of simmering, add the dumplings on top. Put the lid back on and leave for 30minutes. At this point you can fish out the whole  rabbit (serve the dumplings into bowls first) and de-bone it once it’s cooled a little, it should just fall off, and you can add the bone-free meat back into the stew. Serve the stew in a bowl with steamed greens.

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chinese broth and dumplings

Whilst tidying my room, my camera resurfaced, and with it photos of a meal I had completely forgotten about! This is it, the dumpling recipe is the first blog post from the amazing Hollow Legs food blog. I admire blogger Lizzie and reference Hollow Legs a good deal, partly because I am completely incompetent when it comes to Chinese food, but mainly because it is an awesome blog.

I love how the dumplings are all crispy on the bottom and soft and doughy on top. The broth recipe was vaguely based on “Three Shredded and Five Ingredients Soup” from an old regional Chinese cooking book my Dad has. I changed it to suit what I had lying around and to incorporate the leftover pork mince from the dumplings. Before anyone says anything I realise dim sum should be eaten independently and not with soup, but I get a bit edgy when there are no vegetables in a meal and I am after all an ignorant Brit (that, and I love soup…)

potsticker dumplings, makes 15-18

for the dough

• 100g plain flour
• 50ml water

for the filling

• 200g minced pork
• 2 finely chopped spring onions
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp corn flour
• pinch of white pepper

Combine the flour and water to make a soft dough, and leave for 30 mins to stand. Mix the filling ingredients and allow them to stand for 30 mins too (while you wait you can get on with the soup…see the next recipe)

Once you’ve waited, knead the dough for a couple of minutes and then roll into a sausage which you can chop into the number of pieces you want. Then make the dough into little balls with your hands, then use a rolling pin to make them into circles and fill with just over a teaspoon of filling. Fold the dough in half over the filling and pinch the tops, folding pleats into them and making sure they sit flat. Put them onto a floured plate until you’ve done all of them.

Thats the fiddly bit, as for cooking them they are super quick, so if you’re making the soup I’d make sure that was simmering away to itself first. If that’s all done or you’re just having these then here’s how to cook them: Get a non stick frying pan and heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in it. Place all the dumplings in, making sure they sit flat. Then fill the pan about a third of the way up with water and put a lid on it. Steam them for 7-10 minutes and then take the lid of and allow all the excess water to evaporate and the bottoms to crisp up. Serve with Chinese black vinegar with matchsticks of ginger in to dip them in.

chinese broccoli and pork broth

serves 4 generously

• 200-300g minced pork (or whatever you have leftover from the dumplings)
• 2cm grated ginger root
• 2 cloves garlic
• 50g mixed dried mushrooms, soaked for 30mins in boiling water and drained
• 2 leeks
• 1 tsp shrimp paste
• 1 head of broccoli
• the egg yolk leftover from the dumplings
• 1.5 litres chicken stock

Fry the garlic and ginger in vegetable oil for 2 minutes. Add the leeks and cook gently until softened and then add the shrimp paste and pork, and cook until the meat is browned. Add the stock, then slice the mushrooms and add them too. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, stir in the whisked egg yolk and then add the broccoli. Season to taste and serve once the broccoli has cooked, but isn’t too soft (about 10 minutes). Serve in bowls with the dumplings on the side.

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