Rabbit Braised In Oregon Pinot Gris And Rosemary With Gorgonzola Polenta Food

BRAISED RABBIT WITH ROOT VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven 350 degrees F.
• In a deep baking dish, layer the tomatoes, carrots, celery and onion. Distribute the bunch of thyme throughout the vegetables.
• Heat grapeseed oil in a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat. Season the raw rabbit with salt and pepper and then lightly dust with flour; sear on each side for 1 minute. Remove the rabbit from the heat and deglaze pan with the white wine.
• Place the rabbit on top of the vegetables, and pour the deglazing liquid over the top. Place the baking dish in the oven for 1 hour.
• Serve rabbit over the vegetables.

HERB AND BEER BRAISED RABBIT

Steps:

• Place 1/2 cup flour, salt, and pepper into a plastic bag; toss to mix. Add the rabbit pieces, toss to coat with the flour mixture, and shake off excess. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until lightly smoking.
• Sear the rabbit pieces on each side until golden brown, then set aside. Pour in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and stir in the sliced onions. Cook until the onions have softened, about 2 minutes; then stir in the mushrooms and garlic, cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add the thyme, basil, rosemary, and bay leaves; season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Place the browned rabbit pieces into the Dutch oven, and pour in the beer and chicken stock. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rabbit is very tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Stir 3 tablespoons of flour into the softened butter until smooth. Remove the rabbit from the simmering broth and set aside. Skim any visible fat from the liquid, then whisk in the butter paste. Simmer for 3 or 4 minutes until thickened, then remove the bay leaves, season again with salt and pepper if needed, and stir in the parsley. Serve the thickened sauce with braised rabbit.

BRAISED RABBIT WITH PORCINI AND POLENTA

Steps:

• Soak the mushrooms in warm water for a half-hour, then squeeze them dry, discarding all but two tablespoons of the liquid. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat; saute the onion, prosciutto and mushrooms until the onion is lightly browned. Add the rabbit and brown on all sides.
• Add the wine, thyme, salt and pepper and cook covered over medium heat for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, dice the tomatoes and add them to the rabbit. Lower the heat and cook, uncovered for another 30 minutes or until the sauce has thickened somewhat.
• In the meantime, make the polenta. Fill a large pot with three quarts of salted water, add the polenta in a steady stream and cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the spoon stands by itself in the center and the polenta pulls away from the sides of the pot. Serve the polenta in large bowls, topped with the rabbit.

BRAISED RABBIT WITH POLENTA

Steps:

• In large casserole over medium-high heat, heat olive oil and add onion, bacon, bay leaves, sage, rosemary and cloves. Saute, stirring constantly, until onion is wilted, about 4 minutes.
• Season rabbit pieces with salt and pepper to taste. Add rabbit to casserole, and saute until lightly browned, about 3 minutes a side. Add tomato paste and wine. Stir, scraping bottom of pan. Add stock. Simmer partly covered until rabbit is cooked, about 40 minutes.
• Remove rabbit pieces to a platter, and keep them warm. Strain sauce, and return it to a clean pan. Bring it to a boil, and reduce for 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Pour sauce over rabbit, and serve with polenta.

RABBIT RAGU WITH PAPPARDELLE

Steps:

• Pat the rabbit pieces dry and season with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the oil and brown the pieces, working in batches if needed to avoid crowding. Transfer to a plate.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the anchovy (if you choose) and mash it until it dissolves into the oil. Add the onion, carrots and celery, stirring until soft, about 5 minutes. Then add the red-pepper flakes, garlic and tomato paste, stirring for another minute. Deglaze the pan with the wine, turn the heat to high and boil to burn off the alcohol, about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, broth, bay leaves and thyme. Return the rabbit pieces to the pot, spacing them evenly so they are partly covered by the liquid. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the rabbit is falling off the bone, about 2 hours. Turn the pieces at least once.
• Turn off the heat and discard the thyme and bay leaves. Remove the rabbit from the sauce and let cool; then pull the meat from the bones. Shred some pieces and leave others large. Return the meat to the pan and simmer the sauce until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the butter, piece by piece. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pappardelle until al dente. Before draining, save a cup of the pasta water. Toss the pappardelle with the sauce over low heat, adding pasta water as necessary if the sauce is too thick. Divide among pasta bowls and top with the grated cheese.

ITALIAN-STYLE BRAISED RABBIT WITH ROSEMARY AND MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Cut the rabbit into 9 pieces (or ask your butcher to) as follows: with a sharp cleaver, cut the saddle (center portion) into 3 pieces, leaving the kidneys attached. Cut the front portion (front legs) in half through the backbone. Chop each hind leg into 2 pieces. Reserve the liver and heart to sauté as a snack.
• Heat .25 inch of olive oil in a Dutch oven or deep, wide heavy skillet over medium heat. Season the rabbit pieces with salt and pepper, then dust lightly with flour. Lightly brown the rabbit for about 3 minutes on both sides, working in batches. Drain on kitchen towels, then transfer to a baking dish in one layer. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Pour off the used oil, wipe out the pan and add 2 tablespoons fresh oil. Heat to medium-high, add the onions and cook till soft, about 5 minutes. Add the leek, garlic, rosemary and mushrooms. Season generously with salt and pepper, and add red pepper flakes to taste. Cook for 2 minutes more, stirring.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and wine, and let the mixture reduce for 1 minute. Add the broth, bring to a simmer, taste and adjust seasonings.
• Ladle the mixture evenly over the rabbit. Cover the dish, and bake for 1 hour. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

RED-WINE BRAISED RABBIT WITH SAGE POLENTA

Steps:

• In a large bowl stir together flour and salt. Add rabbit and toss to coat. In a heavy kettle heat 2 tablespoons oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown rabbit in batches, transferring pieces to a bowl.
• Add onion and remaining tablespoon oil to kettle and sauté, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned. Stir in garlic and rosemary and sauté, stirring, 1 minute. Add broth, wine, and rabbit with any juices accumulated in bowl and simmer, covered, 1 hour, or until rabbit is tender. Remove lid and simmer until sauce is thickened slightly. Stir in parsley.
• Stir sage into warm polenta. Serve polenta topped with rabbit and sauce.
• To make basic polenta:
• In a heavy saucepan bring water and salt to a boil and gradually whisk in cornmeal in a thin stream. Cook polenta over moderately low heat (it should be barely boiling), stirring constantly, until very thick and pulls away from side of pan, about 40 minutes for cornmeal and about 15 minutes 2for instant polenta. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm. Stir polenta just before using. Polenta will keep warm, covered, about 20 minutes. Makes about 3 cups.
• Note: In the traditional method of cooking polenta, forty minutes of constant stirring is required to achieve a lumpless texture and fragrant flavor. However, Italian-food expert Marcella Hazan has developed a method that involves very little stirring during this time. We believe it produces a very good polenta, one nearly as flavorful and smooth as the traditional procedure. To make satisfactory polenta in a real hurry, an imported instant polenta (precooked cornmeal) is available. This cooks in a mere fifteen minutes.

RABBIT BRAISED IN OREGON PINOT GRIS AND ROSEMARY WITH GORGONZOLA POLENTA

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 375°. Lay rabbit on its back on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut off hind legs at the joint near the backbone. Cut under shoulder blades to remove forelegs from rib cage. Trim off rib cage on either side of loin and discard, then trim neck and tail ends of loin and discard. Cut loin crosswise (through backbone) into 2 pieces. 2. Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add rabbit to skillet and brown well all over, 4-6 minutes per batch. 3. Transfer rabbit to a medium roasting pan and scatter garlic and rosemary into pan. Break up sausage meat and add to pan. Add enough wine to pan that it reaches a depth of about 1/4". Season to taste with salt and pepper. Tightly cover pan with heavy-duty foil, then pierce in 3 or 4 places to allow steam to escape. Transfer to oven and braise until rabbit is tender, 1-1 1/2 hours. 4. Bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Gradually add polenta in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, until polenta is very thick, 4-5 minutes. Stir in 4 tbsp. of the half-and-half. Add parmigiano-reggiano and gorgonzola, season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir well. Thin polenta with remaining half-and-half, if you like. 5. Divide polenta between 4 warm plates. Place rabbit on polenta, dividing hindquarter pieces between 2 of the plates and forelegs and loins between the remaining 2 plates. Garnish each plate with some of the sausage, 1 clove of the garlic, and 1 sprig of the rosemary.