Casseroled Rabbit with White Wine & Mushrooms

This is one of the boy’s favourites and it’s a rare treat as (depending on where you live, Wild Rabbit can be hard to find. Then when you do find it, it’s often hanging from a butcher’s hook, with head and feet still on, in all its furry glory. I can’t cope with that and the boy certainly can’t. 

This is based on a Sophie Grigson recipe from the mid 1990s. She says she finds wild rabbit tough and much prefers domesticated (farmed) rabbit as it is much more tender. There is a reason for that. The muscles never get any work as they are raised in the exact same conditions that battery hens used to be. A typical cage is the size of a piece of A4 paper. There are no laws to deal with this yet, so please check with your butcher that it is wild rabbit and put up with it being slightly chewy.

We have found a wild rabbit, skinned and jointed – the 4 legs in 2 pieces each and the saddle in 2.

1 wild rabbit, jointed

225g shitake mushrooms (or a mixture)

16 pearl onions

Seasoned flour

2tbsp oil

25g butter

120ml dry white wine

600ml chicken stock

1 bay leaf

2tbsp chopped parsley

40g buerre manié (half flour and half butter mashed together)

150ml crème fraiche

A good squeeze of lemon juice

Salt & pepper

The boy has been instructed to steal me a bay leaf from the potted trees outside the pub.

Halve the mushrooms and peel the onions. Sophie Grigson has a cool tip, which is to top and tail them and cover them with boiling water for 30 seconds, which makes it easier. The boy is doing this, which, frankly, makes it even easier.

Heat half the oil and half the butter in a pan. Dredge the bunny bits in the seasoned flour and brown them, in batches. I like a little paprika in the seasoned flour. Transfer to a casserole. Add a little more butter and oil and do the same with the onions and mushrooms. You just want a little colour. Add to the rabbit.

The bottom of the pan will now be full of crispy delicious bits, so the wine goes in and it gets a good scrape with a wooden spatula. We’re using a 2012 French Muscadet, for its slightly rich flavour. Let it bubble up until it reduces by half and the bottom of the pan is clean. Pour into the casserole with the rabbit, mushrooms and onions. Add the stock, bay leaf, half the parsley and salt & pepper.

I don’t think one of thyme, sage or rosemary would go amiss, but not all of them!

Bring to the boil and then simmer for 45 minutes with the lid half off so it thickens up a little bit. Check that the rabbit is tender – it might not be, so decide whether to compromise or keep cooking. I think the chewy texture of the shitakes is in keeping with this. To keep us entertained the boy has decided to read us Beatrix Potter’s, Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies. Ha ha!

One alternative would be to put everything in a slow cooker, after browning, instead of the casserole, cook for 6 hours and then finish off in a large pan.

So when you’re ready, scoop out the rabbit pieces – count them – there should be 10, and as many onions and mushrooms as you can find with a slotted spoon. Put into a serving dish and keep it warm.

Make the buerre manie. It helps if you took the butter out of the fridge. As I forgot to do this, the boy is showing off his biceps by doing it – it’s revenge for the Flopsy Bunnies!

Pour all the juices into a wide frying pan and let it reduce by about half. Lower the heat and add the buerre manie in little cubes and stir constantly, so it thickens rather than separates. Once it’s all in give it another 3 minutes so the flour cooks through. Stir in the crème fraiche and a squeeze of lemon juice. Sophie says double cream would be fine, but I’d use a really good squeeze of lemon in this case. Last chance to check for seasoning, though this will taste tarter than it will once it’s on the rabbit.

Pour over the rabbit and sprinkle the rest of the parsley over.

We had it with boiled and buttered potatoes. The boy would have preferred it with mash, but as he wasn’t going to make any, boiled and buttered potatoes it is.

Mint Jelly

Sunday lunch is an immovable feast with the boy. I shouldn’t let him watch Saturday Kitchen as he now wants a version of the Pot Roast Lamb. However I did want to make some mint jelly that will keep. It coincides with our apple tree heaving with (not terribly sweet) apples and the fact that our gardener has cut back about 4 cubic feet of mint that has grown rampant over the summer.

1kg apples

1.5l water

80ml lemon juice

2/3 cup chopped fresh mint + 1 extra quarter cup kept back

A pinch of salt

660g sugar

The biggest pain is the mint chopping, as it needs to be quite fine. This is the boy’s job and he’s using the mezzaluna. This was his idea in the first place. This is a lot of mint, once chopped, but that is rather the point. And it’s his own fault.

The pectin in the apples means there is no need for gelatine. I’ve nothing against cows’ hooves, but would rather have apples, if possible. Chop them, unpeeled, leaving the seeds in.  Put the apples, lemon juice, salt and the 2/3 cup of mint into a pan and simmer for 40 minutes.  The apples need to be very soft and cooked through.

Strain the mixture through muslin. This will take a while, as squeezing the bag will just make it cloudy. I have to restrain the boy from doing this several times. A jelly bag would work equally well.

Pour into a measuring jug and add 165g of sugar to each 250ml of liquid. Stir over a low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Then crank the heat up and boil uncovered for about 20 minutes.  You can tell it’s done by putting a small blob on a saucer that has been kept in the fridge. If it sets, it’s done. I think you want a loose jelly, so don’t overdo it.

Let it cool for 10 minutes. Stir in the reserved mint and bottle in sterilised jars. It will keep for a year. I like quite small jars as we don’t have roast lamb every day once we’ve opened one.

I keep thinking a little chilli would help this along but the boy won’t let me.

There is a recipe for fresh mint sauce on this blog (May 2012) – I prefer the sharpness but the boy prefers this sweet version. We take turns.

Rifat's Hot Tomato Sauce

This is another recipe from my friend Rifat. It freezes well so this recipe will make a lot to defrost when it’s needed. If you have to dismantle the blender to wash it afterwards, you might as well just do it once.

3 tins whole tomatoes

3-4 onions – approx. 1 ½ per tin of tomatoes, depending on their size

8 Scotch bonnet chillies (Habaneros)

1tsp coriander powder

Salt to taste – probably a heaped teaspoon

2/3 tsp turmeric

Sunflower oil – about 2/3 of a cup

Blend the tomatoes with the chillies and set aside. If you’re going to blend them, why use whole tomatoes and not chopped? Well whole tomatoes are canned slightly under ripe and I think that tartness is a virtue in a tomato. I would always recommend Cirio brand – in this case because they are so much less watery than other brands, but just cook for longer to thicken up a cheaper brand.

Blend the onions – Rifat insists that it is tomatoes first and then onions. I couldn’t quite fathom the logic and even she admits this is probably being pedantic. You may need to add a little water to ease it along and get it all out of the blender at the end.

Warm a pan up (Rifat uses a wok because of its size), and add the onions to let the water evaporate off. Stir in the salt and then add the oil. Cook on a very low heat, stirring often until the onions are completely cooked through.  This can take over an hour but Rifat says it always tastes best with patience. You can tell they are cooked when the onions separate from the oil and are golden brown.

Add the tomato/chilli mix and turn up the heat. Stir it well to mix and ad the turmeric and coriander. Taste to see if it needs more salt. If your tomatoes aren’t great quality a tsp of sugar might tip it back into balance. Rifat often adds a few whole Scotch Bonnets, and leaves them whole when freezing this but I’m not going to.

Reduce the heat and let it simmer for another hour until it is the thickness you like. Again stir from time to time, and again you can tell it is ready when the oil separates and sits on top. You can spoon some of this off if there is too much for your taste.

You will have a ton of this so let what you’re not using cool and freeze for when you need it

This is a handy base for all sorts of things though Rifat’s family favourite is with grilled chicken and rice, with some coleslaw on the side.

With this amount of chilli, this is not one for the boy. I will have it when he’s at the pub watching the football.

Black Pepper & Tamarind Bloody Mary

My quest for interesting tomato juice recipes – and to find a Bloody Mary that I actually like, continues. I found this recipe from Stevie Parle, and as I love tamarind, I had to try it. I made it for the boy, but with the plan of having a sip myself.

300ml fresh tomato juice

80g tamarind pulp

2tsp fish sauce (Nam Pla)

10 coriander leaves, chopped

4 pinches coarsely ground black pepper

6 dashes Tabasco

2 pinches sea salt

70ml Tequila

Ice

I’m not a fan of Nam Pla, but the boy is, so we are going for it. We are using “not from concentrate” tomato juice from the chilled juice section of the supermarket. I don’t usually buy it as it’s weaker than the regular kind, but the Tamarind will counteract that. If you can find the kind without seeds it will save a lot of work!

Mix the tomato juice and tamarind with a muddler (or the handle of a wooden spoon) to make a thin paste. Put this into a cocktail shaker and add the rest of the ingredients. I think the coriander needs to be chopped super fine. I’ve also noticed that whenever TV chefs use a pinch of anything, it’s an absolutely massive pinch, so I have gone for the same approach. 

We’re using the clear (Silver) Tequila, as the recipe doesn’t specify. The boy is rightly suspicious of the brand that has the little plastic sombrero over the cap.

The original recipe suggested pouring Nam Pla into  saucer to dip the rim of the glass in and then dip in more black pepper to give the glass a nice crust. I can’t bring myself to do this, so have used lime juice and black pepper instead.

The boy likes it, I’m not sure. The quest continues……

Sichuan Smacked Cucumber Salad

This formed part of a picnic. I think the boy was impressed as he normally associates cucumbers with being bland and insipid. This is a Fuchsia Dunlop recipe and was the highlight of our picnic. A quick trip to the local Chinese supermarket was needed. I have found that you need to know exactly what you want beforehand as the owner doesn’t speak a word of English and therefore won’t be able to answer questions or point you towards anything you can’t immediately find.

1 large cucumber (preferably organic)

½ tsp black rice vinegar

½ tsp salt

2tbsp chilli oil

1tbsp garlic, finely chopped

Large pinch ground Sichuan pepper

½ tsp caster sugar

2tsp light soy sauce

Let the boy give the cucumber a few good whacks with a rolling pin or a steak hammer. The idea is to break up the inside, but not to pulverise it. When you slice it, it should end up in chunks, rather than mash. Restraint is required – 3 or 4 whacks only.

We bought the Sichuan Pepper whole, as it keeps better that way. The boy likes grinding spices in our old brass spice grinder, even though it takes more effort that you would imagine.

Cut the cucumber into 4 lengthwise and then into 1cm slices the other way.  Place in a bowl with the salt and leave for 10 minutes. This seasons it and draws water out at the same time.

Combine all the other ingredients, drain the cucumber and pour on the dressing. Mix and serve immediately.

As this was a picnic we bottled the dressing, and put the cucumber in a container after it’s salting and combined at the last minute.

Unfortunately the boy's comment was "Oh no, I don't like that at all!" Luckily I did!

Russian Baguette

It’s no secret that the boy is the sandwich monster. We are trying to make the most of the last of summer and are having a picnic. The boy has been sent out to get some fresh French bread. Knowing how much value he places on sandwiches, his choice will be good.

1 Baguette

75g cooked, shelled prawns

1 handful green beans

1 medium sized waxy potato

A handful cos lettuce

1 small cucumber

1 red or yellow pepper

2 pickled cucumbers (dill pickles)

1 bunch parsley, chopped

2tbsp Greek yoghurt

Salt & pepper

I am using quite large prawns as I find the small ones taste a bit fishy; I want them to taste prawny. For some reason cooked ones are cheaper than raw ones.

Peel the potatoes and trim the beans. Slice the potato and boil for 10 minutes. Chop the beans into 1 inch pieces and add them to the boiling water and give it another 10 minutes. Drain and leave it cool and dry out a little.

The boy has turned up with the baguette. Split it open.

Grate most of the cucumber and it to the baguette along with the chopped lettuce. Slice the rest of the cucumber thinly.

Put the prawns in a bowl with the yoghurt, green beans and parsley and mix well. Season well. Thinly slice the dill pickles and red pepper.

Spoon the prawn mixture into the baguette and top with slices of potato, cucumber, pepper and pickle.

Close it carefully and if not eating straight away, wrap in parchment and tie it up with string. Cling film just makes any sandwich taste of cling film.

The boy quite rightly questions its Russian provenance. No idea.

Chow Chow Hot Dogs

The boy is very happy that we are having hotdogs for lunch. He’s perfectly happy to have them with ketchup and French’s American mustard, but these are special with their sweet and sour relish.

4 hot dogs

4 hot dog buns

2 sweet white onions

2 Jalapenos

4tbsp cider vinegar

2tbsp olive oil

2tbsp brown sugar

1tbsp English mustard

1tsp ground turmeric

½ tsp caraway seeds

Salt & pepper

The hardest part these days is finding decent frankfurters. Check the ingredients and reject anything that says MRM or similar on the label. This means it will be made of stuff that I’m not happy with the boy eating. It means mechanically rendered, which frankly is unfit for human consumption. Sadly most commercial frankfurters are made from this. Herta are decent though too thin, as are Matteson's which are too thick. I have found just the right one in Lidl. If you love him hunt down the right ones. I do, so I do. I think the rolls should be soft rather than crisp.

Make the relish first. Slice the onions finely and chop the jalapeno. I have deseeded them and am saving the seeds to plant next year as jalapenos are so expensive in the UK. Saute for 10 minutes in the oil (use cheap olive oil), and add the vinegar, mustard, sugar, turmeric and caraway seeds. Keep on a low heat and mix until it thickens into a relish texture. About another 10 minutes.

Fry the frankfurters for a few minutes – they should be already cooked, so you’re just improving the flavour and texture. At this point the boy and his cat will pad in, having smelled something good going on. Give his cat an inch of sausage and tell the boy to wait.

Assemble the hotdogs – this doesn’t needs instructions. Stuff in as much chow chow relish as you can manage. I can’t resist a shake of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce on mine.  Wrap in kitchen paper and make sure the boy isn’t wearing a white T-shirt. 

Lebanese Chick Pea Salad

As summer is waning, the boy wants to have a last barbeque. Whilst he is busy charring lamb chops, I am whizzing up this Lebanese inspired salad.

1 can chick peas (Garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed

1 medium red onion

2 tomatoes

1 bunch coriander (cilantro)

½ a small cucumber

1tsp Za’atar

Olive oil and lemon juice to dress  the salad

Salt & Pepper

The recipe is pretty much just chop, chop, chop, chop. I have put on a CD called The Rough Guide to Bellydance, as it amuses me. I’m not trying it, even though the CD comes with a free instructional DVD.

Za’taar is the secret ingredient  - there are endless variations, and I’m sure the closely guarded family secrets are the best ones. It is essentially a blend of dried oregano, marjoram, sumac, sesame seeds, salt and sometimes cumin. Ours is Palestinian, from Oxfam. It’s super – buy some.

So after doing chop, chop, chop, put it all in a bowl and do mix, mix, mix.

I haven’t given amounts or proportions for the oil and lemon juice dressing as I think this is a really personal decision. The boy and I like our dressings sharp and would do a 1:1 ratio. If you can find it, Kalamata olive oil is awesome. I think the chalkiness of the chickpeas can take it on the sharp side so am generous with the lemon juice. If you don’t like coriander, a mix of mint and flat leaf parsley would also be great.

Check for seasoning, bearing in mind the Za’atar should have done a lot of the work.

Enjoy with the burnt lamb chops. The boy is looking winningly sheepish.

Mojo Verde

As summer draws to a close, I feel the need to eat as much fresh produce as I can. The boy has made crudités – carrot, cucumber, red pepper and celery batons to have with some hummus. I’m having mine with this, which is too hot for him.

1 large bunch coriander

6 green chillies

1 garlic clove

200ml  extra virgin olive oil

Juice of a lemon

1 tbsp sherry vinegar

½ tsp ground cumin

Some decent salsa music will lift this no end.

Roughly chop up the coriander, including the stalks. Deseed the chillies and roughly chop. Ignore the derisive looks from the boy. Slice the garlic clove.

Blitz in a food processor along with the lemon juice, vinegar and oil. White wine vinegar with a pinch of sugar would also work.

Decide whether you want it smooth or rough. The boy prefers it with a bit of texture and less chilli but this is for me so it’s hot and smooth.

Fresh Pea & Bacon Soup

I have posted a recipe for pea and ham soup using dried marrowfat peas and I have to confess it is my favourite. This uses the last of the summer’s fresh peas.

25g butter

5 spring onions,

500g fresh peas

250g  smoked bacon lardons

500ml ham stock

100ml full fat milk

I almost always start with a bit more than 500g of peas as I know how many the boy will eat while we are podding them. As it is September now, thoughts turn Autumnal so we are being frugal and making our own stock, though the “jelly pots” are very good these days. Ours is water, a chopped onion, peppercorns, a carrot, a stick of celery , a handful of the pea pods, a little thyme and a ham bone that the butcher gave us for free. See if you can get a pancetta rind or anything that will be cheap or free but is full of flavour. Just simmer for an hour and skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Fry the lardons and add any pan scrapings to the stock. Set aside.

Oddly, our cat, Ragout loves chewing on pea pods! He doesn’t eat them, but enjoys a good chew. This soup is all about enjoyment so we are happy to indulge him.

If you have made your own stock, feel extra virtuous and strain it.

Slice the spring onions (the green bits went into the stock), and fry gently in the butter. Add the stock. Once it comes to the boil, get the peas off the boy and add them too. Let it cool a little and then blend it. I always feel that when we blend soups we only do it for a few seconds and it needs much more than that. Put it back in the pan to warm it back up and add the milk to thin it a little. I prefer soups that are not too thick. Pourable rather than only spoonable.

Add the lardons and stir through. I have left the boy to the rest of the meal and he has come up with crusty bread, thickly spread with cream cheese. Wise boy.