Braised rabbit with prunes and spring vegetables

November 5, 2009

Baby spring turnips and colourful "black" Dutch carrots with their purple skins and creamy centres

Rabbits make a tasty casserole, particularly as in this classic dish, Lapin aux pruneaux or rabbit with prunes.

Rabbit is a lean meat and so the streaky bacon is an integral part of this dish. The flavour of the finished dish is greatly enhanced if you make a good rabbit stock from the leftover bones and trimmings when you joint the rabbits, though you can use a good chicken or vegetable stock if you are pressed for time. Leftover stock can be frozen for later use.

Double-podded blanched broad beans with asparagus and a dash of capsicum for colour

When I made this dish I accompanied it with small black Dutch carrots and baby turnips baked in the oven for 30 minutes in a covered dish with a generous knob of tarragon butter – a teaspoon of finely chopped tarragon mashed into a tablespoon of butter. I also served double-podded broad beans and asparagus spears, cooked briefly in the microwave oven with slivers of red pepper for colour. As an alternative to spring vegetables you can serve creamy mashed potatoes, carrots and greens.

Braised rabbit with prunes

12 pitted prunes
100ml brandy
2 small rabbits
flour
3 rashers streaky bacon
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon oil
12 baby onions or shallots
250ml red wine
500ml rabbit stock (see below)
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

For the stock
rabbit trimmings
1 litre water
250ml red wine
1 carrot
1 stick celery
1 onion
1 tablespoon tomato paste
bouquet garni of thyme, parsley and a bay leaf

Soak the prunes in the brandy for two hours.

Joint the rabbits and cut the saddles in half.

Place the rib cages and any other rabbit trimmings in a pot with the other stock ingredients and bring to the boil. Remove scum. Cover and simmer for 90 minutes. Strain.

Preheat oven to 180c. Chop the bacon into small pieces. Heat the butter and oil in a pan and cook the bacon until golden and transfer to a casserole. Dust the rabbit with flour and brown in the same pan in batches. Add to the casserole. Brown the onions or shallots, adding a little more butter and oil if necessary. Transfer to the casserole and deglaze the pan with some of the stock and add to the meat with the wine and remaining stock. Season.

Cover and cook for 60 minutes then add the prunes and brandy and continue cooking until the rabbit is tender – another 45-60 minutes. Check and adjust the seasoning. Thicken the sauce if necessary with beurre manié - a little flour rubbed into a tablespoon of butter - and cook for a further five minutes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar. Serves four.

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