Spaetzle With Corn Peas Braised Rabbit And Tarragon Food

SPAETZLE WITH CORN, PEAS, BRAISED RABBIT AND TARRAGON

Steps:

• For rabbit: preheat oven to 375 degrees. Season rabbit with salt and pepper to taste. Place a large braising pan or casserole over medium-high heat and add vegetable oil. When oil shimmers, add rabbit and brown lightly on all sides.
• Transfer rabbit to a platter. Add carrot, onion and celery root to pan. Sauté until softened and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Return rabbit to pan on top of vegetables, and add wine, thyme and garlic. Cover and braise in oven for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare corn, peas and spaetzle.
• For corn and peas: in a large saucepan bring milk to a simmer and season lightly with salt. Add corn and simmer for 2 minutes. Drain, cut corn from cob and reserve. Fill a small saucepan with lightly salted water and bring to a simmer. Add peas and simmer just until they turn bright green. Drain, cool in ice water, drain again; reserve.
• For spaetzle: place a large pot of lightly salted water over high heat to bring to a boil. Place flour in a large bowl and season to taste with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. Add eggs, 1/2 cup cream and quark; mix well. When water boils, press dough through a spaetzle maker directly into water. As noodles float to top, remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl. Mix with a bit of olive oil. Set aside.
• To finish: when rabbit is cooked, reserve 3 tablespoons stock. Remove rabbit meat from bones and cut into small cubes. Place a large sautépan over medium heat, and add butter, corn, peas, rabbit and spaetzle. Sautè until thoroughly heated. Add reserved rabbit stock, 5 teaspoons heavy cream and a dash of lemon juice. Bring to a boil, add tarragon and chives, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

SPAETZLE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. In another mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg-milk mixture. Gradually draw in the flour from the sides and combine well; the dough should be smooth and thick. Let the dough rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Bring 3 quarts of salted water to a boil in a large pot, then reduce to a simmer. To form the spaetzle, hold a large holed colander or slotted spoon over the simmering water and push the dough through the holes with a spatula or spoon. Do this in batches so you don't overcrowd the pot. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the spaetzle floats to the surface, stirring gently to prevent sticking. Dump the spaetzle into a colander and give it a quick rinse with cool water.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add the spaetzle; tossing to coat. Cook the spaetzle for 1 to 2 minutes to give the noodles some color, and then sprinkle with the chopped chives and season with salt and pepper before serving.

SAUTé OF SPRING PEAS WITH TARRAGON

Steps:

• Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add peas and snow peas. Stir to coat. Cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Stir in tarragon. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

PEAS IN TARRAGON CREAM

Steps:

• Cook the peas, do not over cook.
• Remove from heat, drain and reserve until needed.
• Melt the butter and saute the scallions and celery until tender.
• Add the cooked peas to the scallions and celery, mix and stir in the cream and tarragon.
• Cook for 5 minutes, uncovered on low heat, until heated thru.
• Season with salt and pepper and serve.

RABBIT WITH TARRAGON SAUCE

Steps:

• Put the flour, tarragon, salt& pepper in a zip lock bag and mix well.
• Add the rabbit piece by piece, shake well to lightly coat each piece.
• Melt butter in a large skillet, add oil.
• Saute the rabbit pieces until golden.
• Remove apprx 1/2 of the butter/oil so your sauce will not have too much grease.
• Add chicken broth.
• Simmer rabbit apprx 60 minutes.
• Cover for half the time uncover the last 30 minutes.
• If you wish you may thicken the sauce with a little flour.

CORNMEAL SPAETZLE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Whisk together flour, polenta, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Whisk together eggs, milk, and fromage blanc with a mixer on medium speed. Reduce speed to low; whisk in flour mixture. Raise speed to medium-high; whisk until thick and gooey, about 2 minutes.
• Working in batches and using a rubber spatula, gradually press batter through a large-holed colander into boiling water. Boil until spaetzle float to top, about 1 minute; scoop out using a fine sieve. Rinse under cold water; drain.
• Heat butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add spaetzle; season with salt and pepper. Brown, tossing often, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat; toss in dill.