What is it with us English and the humble rabbit? While the rest of Europe put this delicate meat at heart of a host of dishes, we seem to shy away from using it.
I blame Watership Down, or maybe it’s the way it’s butchered in the UK which tends to leave unsymmetrical portions of bits and bobs.
Once tasted, I’m sure you’ll agree it’s difficult to understand why rabbit isn’t a regular dinner time feature – it’s tasty, very lean and, if you select wild, has lived out its life in the green and pleasant lands plus it’s very cheap!
In the same town where an organic free-range chicken commands a £17 price tag, the going price for a whole rabbit is just £3.
Cut into pieces by my obliging local butcher, it cooked up with enough to feed 6.
Do the math and give it a try. The recipe below is from The Silver Spoon and I picked it for its simplicity – basically cooks itself while you get on with preparing other stuff for your guests.
What you need
One rabbit.
Crushed garlic glove.
One chopped spring onion.
Sprig of rosemary, chopped.
Few marjoram leaves.
Sprig of fresh lat leaf parsley.
One bay leaf.
Two tablespoons of strong mustard (I used wholegrain).
Slug of olive oil.
Juice of one lemon.
Salt and pepper.
1/3 bottle of wine.
What you do
Rub the portions with olive oil and a generous helping of salt and pepper. Heat remaining oil in a large pan and brown all over.
Add all the other ingredients except the mustard and boil for about 50mins or an hour.
Stir in the mustard and cook for a further ten minutes.
Serve with mashed potato.
Enjoy!
And if you still don’t believe me about the virtues of bunny, it’s not just me that enjoyed this recipe – I found this food blogger has also tried it out too
foodiesarah 