The first step in making this rabbit stew was to cut up and cook the vegetables that would go in: carrots, turnips, leeks, and celery. I cooked them in a mixture of white wine and water with a couple of bay leaves, one hot red pepper, and a big bunch of parsley. That took about 90 minutes to cook.
My plan was to use the vegetable broth as the basis for a sauce for the rabbit pieces and other ingredients to cook in. While the vegetables were tenderizing, I sauteed some onions and some smoked pork
lardons in a wok. Then, in the same pan I cooked six or eight large button mushrooms cut into slices and about two cups of slow-cooked chicken gizzards (
gésiers de poulet confits). I set all that aside.
Here's the finished dish.
While the vegetables and other flavor ingredients were cooking, I browned the two rabbit thighs in the fat in the sauté pan. I took those out of the pan and put in two or three tablespoons of flour to cook into a white
roux. Then I made a sauce (a gravy) by gradually pouring in the vegetable broth and letting it thicken to a nice consistency. I put a big bouquet of tarragon in and then put in some of each of the other flavor ingredients (
lardons, gésiers, champignons, oignons).
At the last minute, I decided to add about half a cup of cream (
crème liquide) to the pan to enrich the dish, and dropped in a few par-boiled Brussels sprouts for color and taste. We cooked some whole wheat pasta to serve with what had become a
lapin à la crème. Finally, the rabbit thighs went in to cook in the cream sauce with the vegetables and the other meats. (You could make the same kind of dish with chicken, turkey, veal, or even pork tenderloin or shoulder. The stew cooked for about another hour. We enjoyed it with a nice bottle of Chardonnay wine from Chablis (Burgundy).
While the subject is fish, I need to say that I think I'm growing scales. It's raining (lightly) right now, and it's predicted to rain all day. I suppose we can still hope for a sunny summer.
