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.
experiments in eating 