Mustard Braised Rabbit with Carrots

Ingredients
1/4 cup flour
2 sprigs thyme
1 sprig rosemary
1 whole clove
1 kg rabbit cut into 8 peices
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 leeks, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
3 tbls chopped fresh sage
1/2 kg carrots cut into 2cm chunks
1 celery stick diced
3 garlic cloves thinly sliced
2 teas whole coriander seeds
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken stock
2 tbls Dijon mustard to taste
2 tbls chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Method
Preheat oven to 160 degrees. Tie thyme, rosemary and clove in a bundle
Season rabbit with salt and pepper and coat evenly with flour. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in large oven proof dish and brown rabbit in batches, then remove
Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pot and on medium heat add leeks and 2 tablespoons sage and cook, stirring until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the carrots, celery, garlic, coriander, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring until vegetables begin to colour, about 5 minutes
Add wine and increase heat to hight, simmer until reduced by half. Return rabbit to pot. Add stock and herd bundle
Transfer dish to oven and cook partially covered, until meat is fork tender, about 2 hours
Transfer rabbit pieces to a serving platter. If liquid seems to thin, place pot over medium/high heat and simmer until it thickens. Discard bundle of herbs and stir in mustard to taste. Spoon sauce and vegetables over rabbit. Garnish with parsley and remaining 1 tablespoon of chopped sage. Serve with noodles if desired


Slow cooked Rabbit with Chorizo and Mushrooms
Serves 4

Ingredients:
l large rabbit cut into 8 pieces
250g field mushrooms, thickly sliced
1/2 a dried chorizo sausage, sliced
2 cinnamon sticks
1 onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic, sliced
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups dry sherry (or white wine)
1 tin Italian tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil
2 tbls parsley, chopped to finish

Method:
Preheat oven to 175c. Lay rabbit in a heavy baking dish with the mushrooms, chorizo, cinnamon, onion, garlic and bay leaves
Season with salt and pepper, add the sherry and tomatoes, mix will then drizzle with olive oil
Cook for 1 1/2 hours, or until the meat feels soft and pulls away easily from the bone

Rabbit Stew

Ingredients:
2 rabbits, skinned and jointed
50 g seasoned flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
25 g butter
6 rashers of bacon, chopped
2 large onions, sliced
3 carrots, sliced
1 litre beef stock
1 glass red wine ( be generous)
100 g dried apricots, halved
fresh rosemary

Method:
Dust the rabbit pieces with season flour, reserving what's left over. Heat together the oil and butter in a large pan, and fry the rabbit for about 5-6 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a large casserole dish. Add the bacon to the frying pan and cook for a copuple of minutes, then add the onions and carrots and saute for 2 or 3 more minutes, then add to the casserole.

Remove the frying pan from heat, and stir in remaining flour and make a roux. Cook gently over a low heat for about a minute, then stir in the beef stock gradually. Heat until the sauce boils and thinkens, then pour into the pot with the wine, apricots and some of the rosemary. Cover and cook in a preheated oven (190 degrees) for about 1 hour. Garnish with some more rosemary.