Thinking that my blue Le Creuset casserole was feeling neglected, I trawled the freezers for inspiration. Believe it or not, I’m almost out of meat! That’s okay, I’m going to Sens at the end of the week 🙂 Anyway, I found 4 rabbit legs and 4 pieces of rabbit saddle. I had mushrooms and a bulb of fennel in the refrigerator and thought that they, together with the rabbit, would make a nice French-like braise.
When I was in the market on Saturday I noticed a very few butter or wax beans at a stall. End of the season but looking pretty good. I greedily grabbed them thinking of “a plate of wax beans.”
This was a very nice beginning of winter meal. Can’t wait to see what’s in the market in Sens!
I also made a nice batch of dashi braised mushrooms for my husband’s bento. They are so good!
Rabbit with Fennel
4 rabbit legs and 4 slices of rabbit saddle, seasoned with salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup lardons or chopped bacon
1 tbsp butter
1 onion, halved and sliced
1 fennel bulb, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
5 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
16 mushrooms, halved
1/2 glass white wine
Brown the rabbit in the olive oil, remove from pan and put into a large mixing bowl. Add the lardons to the pan and cook until lightly brown and crispy. Add the butter, onion, fennel and garlic to the pan and cook until the onion starts to wilt. Mix in the thyme and parsley, then empty the pan into the bowl with the rabbit. Mix the mushrooms into the bowl, place all into a covered casserole/tajine, pour the wine over all, then roast at 350F for 55-60 minutes.
Braised Mushrooms
1 cup dashi
1 tbsp sake
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp tamari soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 lb whole mushroom
Put everything, except the mushrooms, in a sauce pan on medium to low heat until the liquid begins to bubble. Add the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced by half. Cool and then serve whole or sliced.
That sounds good – I’ll have to try bunny with fennel 😉
Bunny is always good Mad, but the fennel, you’ll want it!
I’ve never tried rabbit – it’s not very popular here in England as they’re more popular as pets! Still, I wouldn’t say no, especially to a delicious looking dish likes yours 🙂 Camilla
Thank you Camilla. Rabbits are pets in the U.S. also. Bizarrely, this makes me think of California when they first hosted Vietnamese refugees and their dogs and cats started disappearing. Hide your bunnies if the French come to a location near you 😀
Oh no how terrible! I don’t think I’d be very happy if I found my cat missing and was then eating a mysterious meat the next day… Luckily I don’t have a bunny rabbit as a pet (probably why I’m also curious to try it!).
lapin au fenouil… c’est une combinaison qui me tente ! 😉
Merci.
Love rabbit, love fennel – love the idea of cooking them together!
It was delicious Chica, well worth repeating.
This sounds absolutely delicious. And the braised mushrooms to boot!
Thank you Jon. Did you get the kitfo recipe?
no, did you send it to the gmail address? Try again please! Tx. That braising recipe works for dried mushrooms too, stronger end result of course.
I love your blue Le Creuset casserole dish. The mushrooms look very good.
That color is called coastal blue. I love it!
What a wonderful recipe! There are a lot of meat rabbit breeders here in North Carolina. I’ve slow cooked rabbit before, and it was amazing! I’ll have to break out my Le Creuset Dutch Oven and give this a try 🙂
Thank you. I love cooking with Le creuset cookware.
Your light blue Le Creuset casserole is gorgeous! I’ve never seen that color before. All mine are either cherry red or flame. In my opinion, those pots can’t be beat :).
Thank you Tessa. I’d like to get more pieces in this color. I do have a grill pan in coastal blue also.
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I have just bought 2 Rabbits and would like to try your recipe, but I have never heard of: Dashi, Sake , Miring or Tamari soy sauce where can I buy these ingredients?
Hello Roger. Dashi, sake, mirin (hon mirin is best) and Tamari Soy sauce are Japanese products and can be purchased at Asian grocers or sometimes Whole Foods.
Thank you for the wonderful recipe. It was really tasty and easy to make. Husband and friends enjoyed it immensely. Thanks again!