Rabbit stew.

Rabbit is a very much unloved meat in this country. I do not know why it is in plentiful supply, reasonably cheap and low in fat. In fact you could go as far to say that it is the ideal meat for a recession that we have at the moment. But if you go to main land Europe, France, Spain and Italy you will find rabbit more available and ready to use. Personally I am lucky as my next door neighbour goes shooting regularly for the local farmers and I have a regular supply of rabbit. But even my neighbour admits that he does not eat what he shoots.  I am happy to say than now everyone in my house eats rabbit, as long as I do the skinning and cooking. This is a more Spanish style stew rather than a British rabbit stew  something I had when I was on holiday.

You will need

 1 or 2 rabbits about 8 pieces

3 tbsp plain flour

Fresh thyme leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

15g/½oz butter

2-3tbsp sunflower oil

6 rashers smoked streaky bacon

2or 3 onions

4 or 5 cloves of garlic

500ml/17floz dry cider

300ml/10floz water

2 bay leaves

350g/12oz carrots

A glass of dry sherry

150g/5oz frozen peas

Fresh parsley

Now to make this is not that difficult and if you have a slow cooker then you can turn it on and leave it, but I like to do it in a pan on the stove top, then everything reduces and you get that lovely stock liquor sauce in the pot.

First get your rabbit and pop it in a bag add the flour and give it all a good shake. Then dice your carrots nice and chunky , along with your onions. Now in a large frying pan heat up the oil and the butter and start to brown of the rabbit. Once you have done this and the rabbit has taken on some colour then transfer it to a large pan. Now in that pan fry of your bacon and onions together and add that the big pan once your bacon is nice and brown. Now deglaze the pan with the water, make sure that you get all the crystalized juices of the pan and add that to the pop. Now add your bay leaf, thyme, and garlic and top up with the cider. Bring up to the boil, then turn it down to a simmer and let it cook for about 1 to 2 hours with the lid on the pan, until the rabbit is tender.

Keep an eye on the pan and make sure that it does not boil dry. Once the meat is tender and almost falling of the bone add the carrots and let then cook for about 45 minutes.  Then once your carrots are cooked add the peas, sherry and chopped parsley and just let the peas warm through.

And that is it , a perfect rabbit stew.