Recipe: Rabbit with Pappardelle

It is the 1st of March – so white rabbit to you or in this case wild rabbit!

This is perfect for a cold winter’s night, rustic and simple. This as an adaptation of Gill Mellor’s (of River Cottage fame) recipe from gather, I’ve added carrots and mushrooms and swapped the smoked bacon with Chorizo.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tbsps. olive oil
1 Wild Rabbit – jointed
1 Cooking Chorizo – sliced and halved
1 onion – sliced
2 sticks of celery – sliced
1 large carrot – chunked/sliced
4 cloves of garlic – finely sliced
2 bay leaves
1 sprig of rosemary
6 thyme sprigs
150g chestnut mushrooms – sliced
500ml of chicken or veg stock
S&P
Pappardelle Pasta
1 bottle of Porter for sipping as it cooks (optional)

Heat the oil in a casserole on the hob and brown the rabbit pieces – you might need to do this in batches. Remove when brown and add the chorizo, wait for some of the fat to come off and colour the oil then add the veg and herbs, but hold back the mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to colour and soften – about 10 minutes.

Then return the rabbit to the pan, along with the mushrooms and stock, which should just cover the rabbit. Bring it to a boil and then let slowly slimmer, with a slight roll, on a low heat. Cover loosely with a lid – leaving a gap and let cook for 1 & 1/2 hours – 2 hours.

Remove the rabbit with a pair of tongs and let cool until you can comfortably pick it up, leave the broth simmering. Carefully remove the meat from the bones and add back to pan. Taste and add seasoning if required.