Country-Style Sweet & Sour Rabbit
Those lucky little rabbits, hopping around in the countryside... until some farmer gets his hands on them and turns them into something like this... unlucky for the rabbit- but lucky for the farmer! And for us of course too!
This was a very simple, "all-in-one-pot" dish, very Sicilian and very delicious! And perfect for a dreary night like this, where a meal that takes care of itself and allows you an hour and a half to sit back and rest and look forward to something great to eat can be a truly wonderful thing!
Rabbit can be a little tricky to make and due to the simple fact, that it is NOT a meat that we tend to eat so often, remains a bit of a daunting option for many of us. But fear not- here is a great "safe bet" of a simple recipe for you, that should lay any of those latent fears you may have to rest!
One juicy rear-leg of rabbit, 2 carrots, 1 stalk of celery, 1 onion, 4-5 small potatoes. 1 tablespoons of raisins, 2 tablespoons of dried oregano, about 1 cup of wine vinegar and a little fresh parsley... and you have a veritable feast lying ahead! Word!
This dish is simple, rustic and delicious- a bit like me I suppose- haha! Seriously though- this is such an easy meal and the flavors work so well that I really hope you give it a try!
Cut the carrots, celery and onion nice and chunky- you want them to still have some bite to them after an hour and a half or so of cooking- and my tip is to rather use smaller potatoes and not peel or cut them than using larger potatoes... they will not over-cook and they will retain a lot more flavor!
I prepared my rabbit in a tajine, but absolutely any saucepan with a lid will work fine of course! And the first thing that I did was to brown the rabbit in a little olive oil, with a good grinding of pepper...
...and then in went the vegetables, the raisins, plenty of oregano, more salt and pepper, 1 cup of water and 1 cup of vinegar... and then back onto the heat it went.
After about 45 minutes, I turned the rabbit over and checked whether it needed any more moisture, but nope! it was all looking pretty hunky-dory... and smelling delicious!
A little after an hour, I added plenty of chopped parsley, a little more vinegar and a drizzle of olive oil, then put the lid back on top and let it gently simmer away for a last half hour or so.
The thing about the vinegar is that it becomes milder as it cooks, and being as the raisins are in there, the sweet and sour combination is so delicious and subtle... it is simply a wonderful thing!
I kept mine looking tidy and neat for the photos... but do make sure to spoon some of those sweet and sour juices over the top when you serve yours up!
Yum, yum, yum... just what the farmer ordered!
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