Preparation: Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C, then wash the rabbit pieces and pat them dry with paper towels. Add salt & pepper to taste and dust the rabbit pieces in the flower. In a large, stove top and oven proof casserole dish, preferably cast iron if available, add 3 table spoons of olive oil and fry the rabbit pieces on both sides. You may have to do this in batches, to avoid overcrowding the casserole dish. When all sides of the meat have a nice golden brown color, remove the rabbit pieces from the casserole dish and set aside. In the same casserole dish add four chopped shallots and three cloves of garlic, halved, and cook over a low heat for 1 minute stirring the mixture all the time. Add 1 cup red wine and stir using a wooden spoon to scrape up the bits from the bottom of the casserole dish and add a pinch of thyme. Return the rabbit
• Dessert
Tarte Tatin Making a good tarte tatin, is all in the technique. The ingredients are simple, but the trick is to get a good dark caramel color and flavor into the apples without overcooking them. You can use your favorite all butter pie crust recipe, or use all butter frozen puff pastry from the frozen section of the supermarket. Ingredients: Serves 4 persons • 6 to 8 Granny Smith apples • ½ lemon • ¾ cup sugar • 1 tablespoon water • 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter • 1 tsp of flour to dust pastry dough • Chilled pastry dough
pieces back to the casserole dish and then place the casserole dish, uncovered, into the pre heated oven and bake for 45 minutes. While your rabbit is baking, you can start to prepare the cauliflower mash: Wash and prepare your cauliflower head in small bite-size florets. Steam the florets for 15 minutes or alternatively you can boil them until the cauliflower becomes very tender. Place the cooked cauliflower in a food processor or blender and add the milk. Pulse several times, and then process until the texture is smooth and creamy. Add salt, pepper and a sprinkle of nutmeg to taste and transfer this puree to a saucepan until you are ready to reheat and serve with the rabbit. Remove the rabbit from the oven, take out the rabbit pieces and set aside. Thicken the
sauce by using wine or water in a separate cup to dissolve the corn starch. When totally dissolved pour the mixture slowly into the dish on a low heat and stir with a wooden spoon till the sauce thickens. Boil the sauce for a few seconds while stirring and then add the sugar, meat and the prunes. Place a cover on the dish and bake for another 30 minutes in the oven until the meat is soft and falls off the bone. When you are ready to serve your main course, you can warm up the cauliflower mash and place a spoonful together with the rabbit and prunes on warmed dinner plates, then decorate your creation with a sprig of fresh thyme and dinner is served. Please note that the cooking times may vary depending on the type of heat source and pot used.
Preparation: Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C. Cut off 250 gram of the frozen puff pastry and let it thaw out. In the meantime peel the apples, quarter them and cut the cores out. Squeeze half a lemon over the slices of apple if you are not using them right away. Pour sugar into a 25-cm (10-in) ovenproof frying pan and place the pan on medium heat. (If you do not have an ovenproof frying pan you will also need a 25-cm (10in) oven proof pie dish). Add water, just enough to be absorbed by the sugar. Keep swirling the pan to mix, but try to keep the rim of the pan free of sugar crystals. Cook the sugar over medium to high heat, gently swirling to keep it cooking evenly until it turns a medium-dark-amber color. This will happen very quickly. Be very careful not to touch, the sugar gets very hot.
add the cold butter in small pieces. Be careful not to splash, as the sugar is very hot. It will bubble up a bit. Off the heat, add the apples, round sides down, in concentric circles, starting on the outside edge of the pan. Try to keep the apples somewhat vertical and pack them as closely possible. Don`t let your fingers touch the hot caramel. Slice any remaining apples into small wedges and scatter them Return the pan to the stove, cook the apple mixture, undisturbed, until the apples are softened and the caramel is starting to ›
The very moment it looks dark enough, remove the pan from the heat and gently
h&s Issue 09 l May 2012
157