Braised Rabbit with Mushrooms and Polenta

For the rabbit:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup flour
1T paprika
1 rabbit, 2-3 pounds
2 ounces dried morels, soaked in 1 cup warm water for 2-3 hours, soaking water reserved (see below)
½ pound crimini mushrooms, chunked
½ pound chanterelles, torn in strips
1 large white onion, sliced thinly
1 tomato, cut into 1” dice
1 bottle dry white wine
zest of half an orange, finely chopped

For the polenta:
4c chicken stock (preferably organic)
2 carrots, peeled and diced to 1”
1 stalk celery in 1” dice
1 large white onion, cut into 1” dice
peppercorns
2-3 parsley sprigs
1 bay leaf
1c dry white wine (from the above bottle)
1 c soaking water from dried mushrooms, very carefully strained
1 cup polenta
2 rosemary sprigs

Polenta:
Start by soaking your dried mushrooms from the "rabbit" ingredient list. Let these steep several hours, then carefully drain. Reserve the mushrooms and soaking liquid separately.

Cut your rabbit into nine pieces. Forelegs, back legs, back into two pieces, "breast" into two pieces, neck. Pretend you're cutting a chicken. The physiology isn't that different. Cut off any remaining fat and discard. Place the neck, both back pieces and any other meaty leftovers into a large saucepan. From the "polenta" ingredient list, add from the beginning (chicken stock) through the strained mushroom liquid. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for up to two hours, skimming any foamy residue. Cool and strain well. You'll need five cups total; if you have less, add the necessary amount of water.

Heat the strained, skimmed stock to boiling. Taste it and add salt as necessary. Crack in fresh pepper to taste and add the rosemary. Very slowly whisk in one cup of polenta. When all of the polenta has been added, turn the heat down to simmer, stir again with a utensil that reaches every part of the pan, and cover. Stir every ten minutes until the polenta is very thick and pulls away from the side of the pan. (Takes 40 minutes or so.) When you're ready to serve, add two tablespoons of butter and rewarm slowly, stirring often. When the butter has melted, stir in 2-3 ounces of soft cheese like Teleme. For a lower fat alternative, use the butter only or olive oil.

Rabbit:
Heat half of the olive oil in a large, heavy braising pan over medium high heat. Mix the flour and paprika in a plastic ziplock bag, adding a large pinch of salt and ground pepper. Pat the rabbit very dry and add to the bag, shaking to coat. Shake off all extraneous flour from three rabbit pieces and add to the pan, being careful not to crowd them. Brown on both sides and remove from the pan. Repeat with the other pieces, using the additional oil if necessary. Now add all of the mushrooms, the onion and the tomato, sauteeing them until the onions begin to take on color. Add three cups of wine to the pan, the rabbit pieces and any juices, and cover. Boil off the alcohol, about five minutes. Now cover the pan and let cook slowly over low heat for an hour, or until the meat falls off the bone. Alternatively, braise in a very slow oven (250 degrees) for two hours. Remove the rabbit, add the orange zest to the pan, and boil your mushroom sauce until it thickens slightly.

To serve, mound some polenta on a warmed plate, cover with several pieces of rabbit, and add mushrooms and sauce. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Comments

[Michelle]

Wow, what a huge amount of work. Sounds great though. I'd love to try those healthier bran muffins. Sure, they may be healthier, but they sure sound tasty.

We don't really have an oven in our place. Or rather, we have a two-burner-stove-with-fish-broiler (common here) and a combo microwave-toaster-oven. We've never used the oven, but I'm thinking about seeing what happens if we try. (or maybe I'll get a new microwave-toaster-oven combo and try THAT one).

BTW, some of your posts don't appear to have a category assigned.

[Kaetchen]

Thanks, Michelle. I've fixed the categories. And really, the bunny wasn't that much work! Cooking is all about coordinating your efforts to get the most done at one time. While the stock's bubbling, you make salad. While the polenta bubbles, the rabbbit's in the oven.