Tuesday 2 June 2009

Baked rabbit / lapin au four

We found rabbit thighs in the village shop today. Usually, we put them in paella, but today I asked the shopkeeper how she usually cooks rabbit and this is my variation on what she told me. / Aujourd'hui nous avons trouvé des cuisses de lapin à l'épicerie du village. Comme d'habitude je les met dans une paella, mais j'ai demandé à l'épicière comment elle cuit le lapin. Cette recette est ma version de ce qu'elle m'a dit.

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For 2 / pour 2 personnes

2 rabbit thighs / cuisses de lapin

2 sweet onions, sliced / oignons doux, coupés en tranches

8 cloves of garlic, unpeeled / gousses d’ail

olive oil, salt, pepper, juniper berries, bay leaves / huile d’olive, sel, poivre, baies de genevre, feuilles de laurier sauce

Put the rabbit pieces in an oven dish with the olive oil. Cover with the sliced onion, garlic, bay leaves and juniper berries. Add salt and pepper. Cover with aluminium foil. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees C for about 1 ½ hours. Serve with rice.

Mettre les morceaux de lapin dans un plat à four. Couvrir des oignons, l’ail, l’huile d’olive, le sel, le poivre, les baies de genevre, les feuilles de laurier. Cuire au four à 180 C pour 1 heure et demie. Servir accompagné de riz.

3 comments:

Graham said...

My few efforts of cooking rabbit over the years have always ended up in quite dry meat, perhaps because I casserole it. This approach seems different as no liquid is employed beyond the olive oil.
I'll try it with savory/sariette instead of juniper in the summer as the French say it goes best with rabbit (and I have some I found growing wild). Juniper for me is more of an autumn and game ingredient.

Wonderfully fresh, simple and seasonal ideas in your recipes by the way.

Graham said...

My few efforts of cooking rabbit over the years have always ended up in quite dry meat, perhaps because I casserole it. This approach seems different as no liquid is employed beyond the olive oil.
I'll try it with savory/sariette instead of juniper in the summer as the French say it goes best with rabbit (and I have some I found growing wild). Juniper for me is more of an autumn and game ingredient.

Wonderfully fresh, simple and seasonal ideas in your recipes by the way.

chaiselongue said...

Graham: yes, I think savoury would go very well instead of juniper. Juniper does have autumn associations, but lately I've been using it more in summer as well because I love the flavour.