Yesterday we cooked rabbit casserole, and part of Kerri’s great rabbit-related master plan was to make left over casserole into pasta sauce today.
We reduced the leftover casserole down until the liquid was about a third of the original amount. We shredded the meat, then returned it to the reduced liquid and added about 150ml of cream. For the pasta, we chose pappardelle, which seemed just the right sort of pasta to go with the rabbit. Just before serving, we added a small bunch worth of chopped parsley to the sauce before mixing the pasta into it and topping with grated parmesan.
From a visual point of view, it looked really good, with the sheen of creamy sauce coating the thick pappardelle strips, the autumnal orange of the carrot and brown of the shredded rabbit morsels contrasting with the fresh green of the parsley.
From a taste point of view, it was brilliant. Yesterday’s casserole was good, but reducing it and adding cream and parsley transformed it into something other-worldly. I commented to Kerri that I couldn’t think of anything that would make it better. Then I experimented by adding few drops of white truffle oil, which both lifted and deepened the flavour and added to the autumnal theme.
Hmm I’ve been going on about it quite a bit and I haven’t even had any wine tonight; it must have been as good as I’ve been making out. And to think that we used about one quarter or one third of a rabbit to make it and the rabbit only cost £2 to start with. Old-fashioned credit crunch cooking. Well it would be if you left out the truffle oil I suppose.
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Looks lovely. I’ve never cooked rabbit before, but this looks perfect. Was it farmed, or wild rabbit?
What a great way of using leftovers.
It was wild Lizzie, I don’t know how different it tastes to the farmed one as it was so long ago that we had it. This certainly made for a more attractive picture than last night.
I’m wondering what other dishes would be suited to this method Sylvie, it was so tasty and so quick.
My leftovers never look this good , but leftovers often have so much more flavour than the original don’t they .
i like the idea of adding cream. we do ours with a juniper berry ragu. it’s a great tuscan way of cooking the rabbit (if you’re interested in our recipe, check here – http://www.weareneverfull.com/open-raviolo-with-hare-and-juniper-berry-ragu/
This sounds and looks ever so tasty. Lundulph and I have been thinking of trying rabbit, but never got round to it. From what my Mum has told me, it’s hellish to cook. I’ve heard that marinating in yoghurt overnight should also tenderise and remove strong smells. Really tempted to try this out now.
I agree Becky, I often find I prefer the leftovers to the original dish.
Thanks for the link We Are Never Full, juniper berry ragu sounds interesting.
Caramella – it’s pretty easy to cook, long and slow is the key I think. I didn’t notice any particularly strong smells but the yoghurt tip is a good one.
My butcher has promised me a rabbit soon – I’ll be keeping this recipe in mind for leftovers 😀
This does indeed sound fantastic – I’ve had a similar dish in restaurants before and really enjoyed it.
I would strongly urge you to try it, it’s up there in my top five I think!