Southwestern Braised Rabbit With Black Beans And Fried Polenta Food

RABBIT WITH SPRING VEGETABLE RAGU AND POLENTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Cut the rabbits as follows: With a sharp cleaver, cut off the front portions (from right behind the front legs) of the rabbits and cut them in half through the backbones. Then cut the saddles from the hind legs; remove the bones but keep the saddles intact. Chop each hind leg into 2 pieces¿the thighs and the drumsticks or lollipops. Remove the bones from the thighs; discard the bones. Reserve the livers and hearts.
• Place the front portions on a baking sheet and roast until golden brown, about 25 minutes. While they roast, bring the brown or white chicken stock to a simmer in a small stockpot over medium heat. Add the roasted rabbit pieces and continue to simmer. Reduce the oven heat to 375 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, puree the onion, fennel, celery, garlic and 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves in the food processor. Scrape the puree into a bowl.
• Coat a large Dutch oven with some of the olive oil and heat over medium heat. Season the rabbit lollipops with salt and brown on all sides. Transfer the lollipops to a plate. Add the pureed vegetables and cook, stirring frequently, until almost dry.
• Add the white wine and let it bubble away until reduced by half. Stir in the mustard. Return the rabbit lollipops to the pan and add enough simmering stock to cover by 2/3. Simmer about 10 minutes, add 2 full ladles of rabbit stock, simmer another 10 minutes, and add 2 more ladles of stock. Continue to cook the rabbit until tender, about 30 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Stir in the remaining heaping teaspoon of whole grain mustard.
• While the lollipops cook, cube the thigh meat. Put it in the bowl of a food processor with the hearts and livers, the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons rosemary, the Parmesan cheese and some salt. Pulse to combine. With the processor running, stream in the cream until the mixture is smooth. This is the forcemeat.
• Cut the caul fat so that you have 2 pieces a little bit larger than the saddles with the loins attached. Spread the pieces of caul fat on a cutting board and lay the prosciutto on top to cover. Put a saddle on each one. Scoop the forcemeat onto the saddles between the loins and roll everything up so that the caul fat encloses the whole bundle. Season with salt. Tie with butcher's twine in a few spots.
• Coat a medium skillet with some of the remaining olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the loins seam-side down and brown them well on all sides. Leave the skillet over the heat. Transfer the loins to a small baking sheet and roast until a meat thermometer inserted in the center registers 160 degrees F, about 15 minutes.
• While the rabbit loins roast, ladle some rabbit stock into the pan you browned them in and scrape any brown bits with a wooden spoon; add the mixture to the pot of rabbit stock.
• For the ragu: Coat a medium skillet with olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add the spring onion, season with salt, and sweat them, stirring occasionally, until softened; you don¿t want them to take on any color. Add the mushrooms and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the fava beans and rabbit stock and cook just to heat the beans through.
• To serve: Slice the loins into thick rounds. Spoon some Polenta and ragu into the centers of 4 dinner plates. Divide the rabbit legs and sliced loin over and around the vegetables, and serve immediately.
• Bring the milk, 2 cups water and bay leaf to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Season generously with salt, almost to the point of over-seasoning. How do you know that you are there? TASTE IT!
• When the liquid reaches a boil, slowly whisk in the polenta in small sprinkles. Once all of the polenta has been incorporated, reduce the heat to medium and immediately switch over to stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook the polenta until it begins to pull away from the pan, adding water to loosen it up if it becomes too thick.
• When the polenta is thoroughly cooked, it should look creamy and not feel gritty on your tongue, about 5 minutes. Remove it from the heat and stir in the Parmesan, mascarpone and chives.

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.

FRIED POLENTA

Steps:

• Cut one 18-ounce tube polenta into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Heat 1/4 inch of vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat the polenta in flour and fry in batches until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side (add more oil if necessary). Drain on a rack; sprinkle with salt and grated parmesan.

BLACK BEANS AND POLENTA

Steps:

• Add the oil to a saucepan and let get heated over medium heat.
• Add in onion; increase heat to high and stir/saute onion for 3 minutes or until tender.
• Add in the wine, garlic, and oregano; stir and cook for 1 minute.
• Drain one can of beans and add to saucepan; add in the other can of beans undrained; stir to combine.
• Cover pan and lower heat to medium; let cook while you are making the polenta; uncover and stir occasionally and season to taste with salt/pepper if needed.
• Add the vegetable broth and rosemary to a soup pot; cover and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Uncover and lower heat to medium.
• While whisking constantly, slowly and gradually add the cornmeal to the boiling broth.
• Continue whisking for 2-3 minuutes or until the mixture is a porridgelike consistency.
• Take polenta off burner and add in the cheese and margarine; stir to combine; season with salt and pepper if needed.
• Spoon polenta into individiual serving bowls; top with beans.
• Serve warm.

BRAISED RABBIT

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook rabbit in oil until lightly browned; remove and keep warm. In the same skillet, saute onion until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the broth, thyme, pepper and bay leaf. , Return rabbit to pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until meat is tender and a thermometer reads 160°., Remove rabbit to a serving platter. Discard bay leaf. Combine the flour, lemon juice and water until smooth; stir into pan juice. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with rabbit.

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.

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.