Southwestern Braised Rabbit With Black Beans And Fried Polenta Recipes

RABBIT WITH SPRING VEGETABLE RAGU AND POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Cut the rabbits as follows: With a sharp cleaver, cut off the front portions (from right behind the front legs) of the rabbits and cut them in half through the backbones. Then cut the saddles from the hind legs; remove the bones but keep the saddles intact. Chop each hind leg into 2 pieces¿the thighs and the drumsticks or lollipops. Remove the bones from the thighs; discard the bones. Reserve the livers and hearts.
• Place the front portions on a baking sheet and roast until golden brown, about 25 minutes. While they roast, bring the brown or white chicken stock to a simmer in a small stockpot over medium heat. Add the roasted rabbit pieces and continue to simmer. Reduce the oven heat to 375 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, puree the onion, fennel, celery, garlic and 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves in the food processor. Scrape the puree into a bowl.
• Coat a large Dutch oven with some of the olive oil and heat over medium heat. Season the rabbit lollipops with salt and brown on all sides. Transfer the lollipops to a plate. Add the pureed vegetables and cook, stirring frequently, until almost dry.
• Add the white wine and let it bubble away until reduced by half. Stir in the mustard. Return the rabbit lollipops to the pan and add enough simmering stock to cover by 2/3. Simmer about 10 minutes, add 2 full ladles of rabbit stock, simmer another 10 minutes, and add 2 more ladles of stock. Continue to cook the rabbit until tender, about 30 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Stir in the remaining heaping teaspoon of whole grain mustard.
• While the lollipops cook, cube the thigh meat. Put it in the bowl of a food processor with the hearts and livers, the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons rosemary, the Parmesan cheese and some salt. Pulse to combine. With the processor running, stream in the cream until the mixture is smooth. This is the forcemeat.
• Cut the caul fat so that you have 2 pieces a little bit larger than the saddles with the loins attached. Spread the pieces of caul fat on a cutting board and lay the prosciutto on top to cover. Put a saddle on each one. Scoop the forcemeat onto the saddles between the loins and roll everything up so that the caul fat encloses the whole bundle. Season with salt. Tie with butcher's twine in a few spots.
• Coat a medium skillet with some of the remaining olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the loins seam-side down and brown them well on all sides. Leave the skillet over the heat. Transfer the loins to a small baking sheet and roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the center registers 160 degrees F, about 15 minutes.
• While the rabbit loins roast, ladle some rabbit stock into the pan you browned them in and scrape any brown bits with a wooden spoon; add the mixture to the pot of rabbit stock.
• For the ragu: Coat a medium skillet with olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add the spring onion, season with salt, and sweat them, stirring occasionally, until softened; you don¿t want them to take on any color. Add the mushrooms and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the fava beans and rabbit stock and cook just to heat the beans through.
• To serve: Slice the loins into thick rounds. Spoon some Polenta and ragu into the centers of 4 dinner plates. Divide the rabbit legs and sliced loin over and around the vegetables, and serve immediately.
• Bring the milk, 2 cups water and bay leaf to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Season generously with salt, almost to the point of over-seasoning. How do you know that you are there? TASTE IT!
• When the liquid reaches a boil, slowly whisk in the polenta in small sprinkles. Once all of the polenta has been incorporated, reduce the heat to medium and immediately switch over to stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook the polenta until it begins to pull away from the pan, adding water to loosen it up if it becomes too thick.
• When the polenta is thoroughly cooked, it should look creamy and not feel gritty on your tongue, about 5 minutes. Remove it from the heat and stir in the Parmesan, mascarpone and chives.

BRAISED RABBIT WITH POLENTA

Steps:

• In large casserole over medium-high heat, heat olive oil and add onion, bacon, bay leaves, sage, rosemary and cloves. Saute, stirring constantly, until onion is wilted, about 4 minutes.
• Season rabbit pieces with salt and pepper to taste. Add rabbit to casserole, and saute until lightly browned, about 3 minutes a side. Add tomato paste and wine. Stir, scraping bottom of pan. Add stock. Simmer partly covered until rabbit is cooked, about 40 minutes.
• Remove rabbit pieces to a platter, and keep them warm. Strain sauce, and return it to a clean pan. Bring it to a boil, and reduce for 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Pour sauce over rabbit, and serve with polenta.

ITALIAN-STYLE BRAISED RABBIT WITH ROSEMARY AND MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Cut the rabbit into 9 pieces (or ask your butcher to) as follows: with a sharp cleaver, cut the saddle (center portion) into 3 pieces, leaving the kidneys attached. Cut the front portion (front legs) in half through the backbone. Chop each hind leg into 2 pieces. Reserve the liver and heart to sauté as a snack.
• Heat .25 inch of olive oil in a Dutch oven or deep, wide heavy skillet over medium heat. Season the rabbit pieces with salt and pepper, then dust lightly with flour. Lightly brown the rabbit for about 3 minutes on both sides, working in batches. Drain on kitchen towels, then transfer to a baking dish in one layer. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Pour off the used oil, wipe out the pan and add 2 tablespoons fresh oil. Heat to medium-high, add the onions and cook till soft, about 5 minutes. Add the leek, garlic, rosemary and mushrooms. Season generously with salt and pepper, and add red pepper flakes to taste. Cook for 2 minutes more, stirring.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and wine, and let the mixture reduce for 1 minute. Add the broth, bring to a simmer, taste and adjust seasonings.
• Ladle the mixture evenly over the rabbit. Cover the dish, and bake for 1 hour. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

FRIED POLENTA

Steps:

• Lightly oil an 11 by 7-inch baking dish. Transfer the hot polenta to the prepared baking dish, spreading evenly to 3/4-inch thick. Refrigerate until cold and firm, about 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
• Cut the polenta into 2 by 1-inch pieces. Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, fry the polenta pieces until golden brown on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Using tongs, transfer the polenta pieces to paper towels and drain. Place the polenta pieces on a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while cooking the remaining batches.
• Transfer the polenta pieces to a serving platter. Sprinkle the polenta with the Parmesan cheese and salt. Serve, passing the marinara sauce alongside.
• Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a heavy large saucepan. Add 2 teaspoons of salt. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens and the cornmeal is tender, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the butter, and stir until melted.

BRAISED RABBIT LEGS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Pat the rabbit legs dry, and season with salt and pepper. Place a large Dutch oven over high heat, and heat oil until shimmering. Sear the rabbit legs until browned on both sides. Transfer to a plate.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the shallots to the pan, and sauté until tender but not browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cornichons, brine and vinegar, raise heat and bring to a simmer. Return the rabbit legs to the pan with any accumulated juices. Add enough chicken stock to come to within about 1/2 inch of covering the legs. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.
• Cover the pan and bake until the rabbit meat is tender and the leg joint bends easily, about 45 minutes.
• Transfer legs to a plate and keep warm. Skim cornichons and shallots from the sauce and set aside. Return pan to medium-high heat, and boil until sauce is reduced by about half. Whisk in butter a piece at a time, and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Return rabbit, cornichons and shallots to the pan until just reheated. Stir in parsley. To serve, place 2 legs on each plate, and top with some shallots, cornichons and sauce.

LAPIN A LA BOURGUIGNONNE (RABBIT WITH RED-WINE SAUCE)

Steps:

• Sprinkle the rabbit pieces with salt and pepper.
• Put the salt-pork cubes in a saucepan and add water to cover. Bring to the boil and simmer about one minute. Drain thoroughly.
• Heat the butter in a large, heavy casserole and add the salt-pork pieces. Cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about three minutes. Add the onions and cook, stirring, about two minutes.
• Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, about two minutes. Transfer the onions, mushrooms and salt-pork pieces to a bowl and set aside.
• To the fat remaining in the casserole, add the rabbit pieces in one layer and cook, turning the pieces as necessary, until lightly browned all over, about five minutes. Scatter the mushrooms, onions and salt pork over the rabbit pieces and stir to blend.
• Cook about five minutes and sprinkle with flour, salt and pepper. Add the wine and cloves.
• Tie the parsley, thyme and bay leaf into a bundle and add it. Bring to the boil, cover closely and cook over very low heat about one hour. Remove and discard the herb bunch. Uncover and cook about three minutes to reduce the sauce.

RED-WINE BRAISED RABBIT WITH SAGE POLENTA

Steps:

• In a large bowl stir together flour and salt. Add rabbit and toss to coat. In a heavy kettle heat 2 tablespoons oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown rabbit in batches, transferring pieces to a bowl.
• Add onion and remaining tablespoon oil to kettle and sauté, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned. Stir in garlic and rosemary and sauté, stirring, 1 minute. Add broth, wine, and rabbit with any juices accumulated in bowl and simmer, covered, 1 hour, or until rabbit is tender. Remove lid and simmer until sauce is thickened slightly. Stir in parsley.
• Stir sage into warm polenta. Serve polenta topped with rabbit and sauce.
• To make basic polenta:
• In a heavy saucepan bring water and salt to a boil and gradually whisk in cornmeal in a thin stream. Cook polenta over moderately low heat (it should be barely boiling), stirring constantly, until very thick and pulls away from side of pan, about 40 minutes for cornmeal and about 15 minutes 2for instant polenta. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm. Stir polenta just before using. Polenta will keep warm, covered, about 20 minutes. Makes about 3 cups.
• Note: In the traditional method of cooking polenta, forty minutes of constant stirring is required to achieve a lumpless texture and fragrant flavor. However, Italian-food expert Marcella Hazan has developed a method that involves very little stirring during this time. We believe it produces a very good polenta, one nearly as flavorful and smooth as the traditional procedure. To make satisfactory polenta in a real hurry, an imported instant polenta (precooked cornmeal) is available. This cooks in a mere fifteen minutes.

FRIED POLENTA

Steps:

• Cut one 18-ounce tube polenta into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Heat 1/4 inch of vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat the polenta in flour and fry in batches until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side (add more oil if necessary). Drain on a rack; sprinkle with salt and grated parmesan.