[Lazy Recipes] Rabbit Ragout Recipe

Rabbit ragout is a pretty common dish in Italy and is hardly anything exotic. That being said, I actually got this inspiration from the Japanese anime Sword Art Online where Asuna made this dish when Kirito caught the S class cooking ingredient Ragout Rabbit. After going through the episode and some other people's recipe, this is my version of this delicious game dish, on a early autumn evening in London.

Ingredients:

1 Rabbit, dissected into 2 front legs, 2 back lags, 2 thigh pieces and the remaining carcass. I kept the liver and got rid of all other internal organs.

1/2 Cabbage, roughly chopped

3 Celery sticks, chopped

3 small Carrots, chopped

1 Onion, chopped

1 Capsicum, chopped

500g stewing Potatoes, chopped

3 cloves of Garlic, minced

250g closed cup Mushrooms, halved

2 Tbsp Tomate purée

500mL dry red wine (something like a good Burgundy would be especially lovely).

1 bouquet garni (or a mixture of herbs of your choice. I used a combination of sage, bay, thyme, oregano and tarragon)

250 mL chicken stock

1 Tbsp All purpose flour

To serve:

Single cream

Grated Parmesan

Method:

1. Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a heavy duty pan. Sear the rabbit meat to give it colour and flavour.

2. Remove the rabbit and add in all the chopped vegetables. Saute for 1 minute. Add the tomato puree and flour, and saute for another minute. Add the red wine to deglace the pan; scrap off all the lovely brown bits at the bottom of the pan to release all the lovely flavours!

3. Put the seared rabbit back into the pot to join the veggies, then pour in the chicken stock and throw in the bouquet garni.

4. Pop on the lid and bring it to a full boil. Turn the heat to low and gently simmer for 1-2 hours.

5. Once everything is tender and cooked through, remove the rabbit from the pot and set aside. The liquid should have reduced significantly by now but if necessary, reduce the sauce by bringing it to a full boil and bubble away. In the meantime, carefully remove the carcass of the rabbit and using a fork to take the meat off the bones. Discard the bones and pop the meat back into the pot.

6. Serve warm with a dollop of fresh cream, a sprinkle of freshly grated Parm, and a glass of good red wine.