Rabbit with pappardelle

This is a very simple recipe for one of the most enjoyable pasta sauces I’ve ever eaten.

Credit: Hardie Grant Books / Andrew Montgomery

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  2:45 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

Cook the rabbit slowly with smoked bacon, vegetables and herbs until it’s tender enough to come away from the bone with ease. Flake the meat, then return it to the sauce. It’s as rustic as you like, and perfect for a cold winter’s night.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 thick rashers of smoked streaky bacon, cut into lardons (see Note)
• 2 celery sticks, trimmed and very finely diced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 thyme sprigs
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 1 wild rabbit, jointed
• 500 ml (17 fl oz) chicken stock or vegetable stock, approximately
• 1 quantity pappardelle pasta (get Gill’s recipe here)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a medium casserole over a medium heat. When it’s hot, add the lardons and fry for 3–4 minutes, or until the bacon has given up a little fat. Add the celery, onion, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme and rosemary sprigs. Cook, stirring regularly, for 10 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and just beginning to colour.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium–high heat. When hot, add the rabbit pieces and season them all over with salt and pepper. Fry the rabbit for 6–8 minutes on each side, or until lovely and golden all over.

Transfer the rabbit and any pan juices to the casserole of softening vegetables. Pour over the stock and bring up to a very gentle simmer. Place a lid on the casserole, leaving it just ajar, then cook on a low heat for 1½–2 hours, or until the meat is completely tender and comes easily away from the bone. If the pan looks a little dry during cooking, add a splash more stock or water.

When the rabbit is ready, remove the casserole from the heat and use a pair of tongs to transfer the rabbit pieces to a large plate. When the meat is cool enough to handle, pick it off the bone in shards and shreds and add it back to the pan. Stir everything well, and return the pan to the heat. Bring the sauce back up to a simmer and continue simmering until it has reached a consistency you’re happy with (I usually leave it bubbling away for about 15–20 minutes). When it’s ready, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook the pasta, drain, then drizzle with a little olive oil. Place equal amounts of pasta on each of four plates, then spoon over generous amounts of the rabbit sauce. Serve straight away.

Note

Lardons are cubes of bacon approximately 1cm square.

Recipe from Gather by Gill Meller (Hardie Grant Books, hb, RRP $49.95). Photography: © Andrew Montgomery. Read our interview with Gill here.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Cook the rabbit slowly with smoked bacon, vegetables and herbs until it’s tender enough to come away from the bone with ease. Flake the meat, then return it to the sauce. It’s as rustic as you like, and perfect for a cold winter’s night.