Recipe For A Warming Winter’s Rabbit Casserole

[lee81 190]

Ingredients

2tbsp sunflower oil

1 desertspoon butter

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 celery sticks, halved and chopped finely (approx 1mm)

3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped finely

8 mushrooms, cleaned and halved

200ml / 7 fl oz red wine (roughly a wine glass)

2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes

300ml / ½ pint chicken stock

1tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp chopped parsley

2 bay leaves

600g / 1¼ lb rabbit, cut into 3cm / 1 inch dices

5 rashers streaky bacon, cut into 3cm long strips

Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F.

Add 1 tbsp sunflower oil and the butter to a heavy bottomed casserole pot and heat to really hot. Add the onions and cook until translucent and just starting to brown at the edges, which will take about 5 minutes over a medium heat. Add the sliced celery, carrot and mushrooms, stir and lightly fry for about 3 minutes until translucent.

Mushrooms, Carrots And Celery

Lightly Fry The Vegetables

Add the red wine, then the chopped tomatoes and chicken stock, and bring to the boil. Cook the stock for about 10 minutes on a full boil and with the lid off to allow it to reduce.

Meanwhile, fry the streaky bacon in 1tbsp of sunflower oil. When browned add the bacon to the tomato stock. Add the chopped and prepared rabbit to the streaky bacon oil and cook until sealed and lightly browned. Add to the tomato and simmer for about 5 minutes with the lid off.

Fry The Rabbit Pieces

Transfer to the preheated oven and cook for 15 minutes at 180C / 350F, then reduce the heat to 160C / 320F and cook for another 45 minutes.

Rabbit Casserole

If possible cook this on the day before eating and leave overnight for the flavours to fully infuse, meld and develop.

Serve with mashed potato.

[The one 8,511]

Sounds and looks good mate , i take the easy way put the rabbit in a casserole dish with a cook in sauce and pop in the oven for a hour

[tegater 789]

Looks good pal, will give that a try after Christmas when I am fed up with goose!

[lee81 190]

i cooked it today for the first time BLOODY LOVELY even the wife says it was the best iv ever made

[ryballnben 22]

well al give it a go!! like a nice stew ATB Ry.