Rabbit in white wine

Try this French spin on cooking rabbit, using wine, butter and herbs for a comforting, hearty recipe.

Rabbit in white wine Credit: Poh's Kitchen

• serves

  2

• prep

  1 hour

• cook

  2:10 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 rabbit, jointed
• 3–4 tbsp Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 200 g speck, diced

• 8 shallots, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 400 g champignons
• ½ cup plain flour
• Bouquet garni (4 sprigs of each herb: parsley, thyme, 2 bay leaves, tied together with cooking string )
• 1 litre homemade chicken stock
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 10 baby chat potatoes peeled, halved and par-boiled
• 10 sprigs thyme (I can't seem to get enough)
• 100 ml full cream
• 1 bunch baby carrots
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter

• Salt and pepper
• ½ cup water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3 tbsp parsley, chopped

Serves a piggy's serving for 2, modest serving for 4.

Instructions

1. With a pastry brush, brush rabbit pieces with mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Melt butter in a heavy based casserole pot with olive oil and when very hot, seal rabbit pieces in small batches of 3-4, taking care not to overcrowd. Brown every piece on both sides and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 160°C.
3. Melt butter with speck in the same pan. Add shallots and brown, then add garlic and sauté until aromatic but not brown. Add champignons, or mushrooms, and sauté till slightly browned. Take off heat, dust each piece of rabbit with flour and return to the pan. Add bouquet garni, pour stock and wine over the rabbit, return to heat and bring to boil. Add potatoes and additional thyme. Cook in oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until rabbit is tender. If you want the sauce to be thicker, pass contents of pot through a colander and boil sauce to reduce to the desired consistency. Add cream and season with salt and pepper if required. Return contents to pot and cover to keep warm.
4. To prepare carrots, cut tops off and scrape skin. In a saucepan, melt two tablespoons butter with a pinch of salt, water and sugar. Cook carrots on a low simmer in liquid until nearly all the water has evaporated and carrots are just tender. Dollop the last tablespoon of butter on top and shake the pan so the carrots are coated with a nice gloss. Serve immediately, scattered over individual serves of the rabbit. Garnish with chopped parsley.
   
   

 

Poh's Kitchen, season 1 to season 3, premieres on Tuesday 20 November at 8.30pm. The series airs Tuesdays at 8.30pm on SBS Food (Channel 33). After they air, episodes will stream at SBS On Demand.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.