One thing I never ate before coming to Spain was rabbit. Just the thought of eating Bugs Bunny or one of his pals made my stomach turn somersaults. However, the first time I went to a fiesta in Algorfa and had a helping of the obligatory paella, there was rabbit in it - which I didn't know until I'd cleared the plate and pronounced it delicious.
I then decided that I was going to serve up more rabbit, but that resolve soon changed when I saw those big eyes looking at me from the 'conejo entero' in the chiller cabinet. So, rabbit was off the menu once again, although I did order it a couple of times when we ate out.
Then a couple of weeks back, Lidl started stocking packs of half a jointed rabbit for just 3.50 Euro, so I bought one, dashed home and perused my Spanish cook books. The only recipe for which I had all the ingredients was marinated rabbit, but even then, it sounded a bit too Spanish for us, with 6 cloves of garlic, so I adapted the recipe and came up with a wonderful supper.
In the pack of meat there were some ribs with quite a bit of meat attached, and also some liver. I set those aside, and used them as the basis for a rabbit and lentil stew, along with some serrano ham taquitos (lardons).
For the main dish, I made a marinade with the juice of a lemon, plus a strip of peel, a large glass of dry white wine, a bay leaf, thyme and parsley, 2 cloves of garlic and a finely chopped leek. Then I added salt and pepper, and put the rabbit into the marinade.
Leave it for a minimum of 6 hours, but it can go overnight if you wish. The original recipe called for 6 cloves of garlic and a finely chopped onion, but because I was cutting down on the garlic, I used a leek, for more flavour. And I added parsley as well as thyme so we didn't end up with garlic breath! Use a glass or plastic bowl for the marinade, rather than metal, because of the lemon juice.
Once marinated, dry the rabbit on kitchen paper, coat it with flour and fry until it's golden brown. Then add the marinade and other ingredients, and a little vegetable or chicken stock. The rabbit needs to be well covered, with enough liquid to allow for evaporation. I also added some sliced mushrooms and peppers, for a little colour and an extra hit of vegetables.
You can cook it on the hob or in the oven. I decided to do it in my new toy - my halogen oven - so I started off the vegetables for around 10 minutes, before adding the other ingredients.
The recipe said cook for around 30 - 40 minutes, and I was a bit incredulous about this, but of course the marinading time tenderises the rabbit. Since then, I've experimented and used orange instead of lemon. That also gives a good result, although as you might guess, the flavour is completely different.
All in all, it was a wonderful meal, and economical too, as I got a stew out of it for the next day. If, like me, you're a bit nervous or squeamish about preparing and cooking rabbit, why not give these prepared packs from Lidl a try?
