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Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall


toogood*10
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Rabbit ragù

 

 

Ragù is a rich meat sauce for pasta, usually cooked long and slow. In this case, the sauce itself is pretty quick to put together, but the rabbit requires a good, long simmer to make it super-tender. Serves two.

 

 

2 tbsp olive oil

 

1 rabbit, jointed

 

4 rashers streaky bacon, diced

 

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

 

2 stems celery, roughly chopped

 

1 onion, peeled and halved ...#8805;

 

2 bay leaves

 

A few black peppercorns

 

2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

 

1kg tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and roughly chopped (or a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes)

 

Salt and ground black pepper

 

½ glass white wine

 

1 knob butter

 

250g pappardelle or tagliatelle

 

Extra-virgin olive oil, to serve

 

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat. Add the rabbit pieces and brown all over. Add the bacon, carrot, celery and onion, and let them take a little colour. Add a bay leaf, the peppercorns and enough water just to cover everything. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, for an hour and a half to two hours, or until the rabbit meat is falling off the bone.

 

Meanwhile, make a simple tomato sauce. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two, without browning, then add the tomatoes and a bay leaf. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes are very soft and pulpy, and the mixture is thick. Remove the bay. If you like, blitz the sauce in a blender to get a smooth consistency, but it's not essential. Taste, season and set aside.

 

Take the meat out of the stock. Strain the stock, discard the veg, then pour into a wide pan. Add the wine, bring to the boil and boil until the liquid has reduced to about 200ml.

 

Pull all the rabbit meat off the bones, in shreds. Combine the sauce with the reduced stock and add the meat. Grind in lots of pepper and add a knob of butter. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

 

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling, salted water until al dente, then drain. Transfer to two warmed dishes and spoon the ragù on top. Trickle over a little extra-virgin olive oil, add a good grinding of black pepper and serve.

 

Rabbit, leek and cider stew

 

 

Wild bunny has almost no fat, so add some while cooking. Slow-cooking with a bit of pork belly is a good bet, as it renders the meat beautifully tender and well lubricated. A slosh of cream won't hurt, either. Serves four to six.

 

1 tbsp olive oil

 

250g salted pork belly (or pancetta), cut into chunky cubes

 

2 rabbits, skinned and jointed

 

3-4 tbsp plain flour, seasoned

 

35g butter

 

3 big leeks, trimmed and sliced thin

 

500ml cider

 

284ml carton double cream

 

1 large sprig fresh thyme

 

Salt and ground black pepper

 

1 good tbsp parsley, chopped

 

Heat the oil in a big pan over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until well browned. Scoop out the meat, leaving behind some rendered fat, and set aside. Toss the rabbit lightly in seasoned flour, add to the pan, brown all over, then turn off the heat.

 

Heat the butter in a separate pan and add the leeks. Sweat gently until soft and silky. Add to the rabbit, along with the browned pork, cider, cream and thyme. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for one to one and a half hours, until the meat is very tender. Season to taste and finish with a generous sprinkling of parsley. Serve with potatoes - mashed or sautéed.

 

Bunny burgers

 

Makes 10 burgers.

 

1 medium onion, finely chopped

 

A little oil

 

1kg rabbit meat, minced

 

250g sausagemeat or minced belly pork

 

About 1 tbsp mixed fresh herbs, finely chopped - I use marjoram, thyme, sage and rosemary

 

Salt and ground black pepper

 

Gently cook the onion in oil for a few minutes until softened, then set aside to cool. Meanwhile, use your hands to mix together the rabbit, sausagemeat and herbs, then mix in the onion and seasoning. Shape into 10 patties not more than 2cm thick, wrap in clingfilm and chill until ready to cook.

 

Cook the burgers on a barbecue or in a lightly oiled heavy frying pan for three to four minutes on each side. Serve in buns with a bit of fresh salad and either a squirt of good tomato ketchup or some mayonnaise spiked with English mustard. ·

Edited by toogood*10
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