The Anonymous Widower

Rabbit Casserole

I got this from Nigel Slater at the Guardian.  I made five this evening and the one I ate was very nice.  The other four are now in my freezer.

A sweet, apple-rich stew for a cool autumn evening. A piece of rabbit or chicken on the bone and a decent butcher’s sausage should be enough for each person, leaving you with four pieces of meat to make a soup-stew for tomorrow. To make soup of the leftovers pull the meat off the bones then return it to the remains of the stew and slowly reheat. Make thick toast croutes to put in the bottom of your soup bowls, then ladle the thick beany soup over them. A drizzle of olive oil is a sound finishing touch. If you need more liquid then add a little stock or water as you reheat.

The qualities shown serve four.

• 250g dried flageolet or haricot beans – I used a large tin of borlotti beans.  Perhaps not as good, but easier.
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 8 large rabbit or chicken pieces on the bone – I used two diced rabbits from the UK Game company.
• 4 decent sausages, cut into four – These were Musks gluten free.
• 2 medium onions
• 400g dessert apples – Two English Bramleys.
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 2 tbsp flour – Doves Farm gluten-free.
• a bay leaf or two
• 500ml cider, stock or, at a push, water – No prizes for guessing I chose the cyder.  Aspalls!
• 3 tbsp double cream (optional)
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar (or more to taste) – Aspalls too!

The method is as follows.

1. Soak the beans overnight in cold water. Drain and bring to the boil in fresh, unsalted water. Let them simmer for approximately 40 minutes, checking their progress now and again. How quickly they are ready will depend on the age of your beans. Drain and set aside. I just opened the tin!
2. Set the oven at 190C/gas mark 5. Warm 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a shallow pan, add the rabbit or chicken pieces and the sausages and let them colour nicely on all sides. While the rabbit or chicken is cooking, peel and roughly chop the onions, core and chop the apples, and remove the rosemary needles from their stems and chop them.
3. Remove the meat to a plate and add the onions to the pan, letting them soften, then introducing the apple, allowing it to colour on all sides, adding more oil if necessary. Stir in the chopped rosemary, flour, bay leaf, salt and pepper, then the cider or stock. Let the liquid bubble for a couple of minutes, stirring to dissolve any crusty bits from the pan. Stir in the drained, cooked beans.
4. I put the meat back in now, but the original recipe didn’t say.
5. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, covered with a lid. Check the meat is tender, then stir in the cream if you are using it and the cider vinegar. The sauce should be quite sweet, but if it’s too much so, reduce it by stirring in more cider vinegar. Check the seasoning, adding more salt, pepper, and cider vinegar as necessary.

Serve in shallow bowls.

I just had one with new potatoes and froze the other four!

August 13, 2009 - Posted by AnonW | Food | Rabbits, Recipe