My mom is French, so I grew up eating rabbit and I love it. But that’s not to say I cook it myself, so last night was a real treat. Tammy’s Pappardelle with Rabbit in Mustard Cream Sauce took me back so quickly to my Mom’s Lapin a la Moutarde, I could hardly stand it.
Now you are wondering “Who is Tammy?”. If you read my blog regularly, you know I am obsessed with underground supper clubs- the adventure, the secrecy, the creativity, the food and making new friends. One of my favorites is Tammy’s Tastings. Look what we ate on Sunday night and you will see what I mean! To top it off, SafeHouse will be getting a donation of $300, so we feel extra good about about how lucky we were to partake in such a feast.
Here is Tammy’s recipe. She says that chicken thighs could easily be substituted for the rabbit.
al dente papparadelle with rabbit in mustard cream sauce
1 3lb. rabbit, cut into serving pieces
kosher salt
olive oil
1 lg yellow onion, cut into 1 inch dice
2 med carrots, cut into 1 inch dice
3 sprigs thyme
3 cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled
1 cup white wine
4 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade)
3-4 tbsp dijon mustard (depending on your preference and the intensity your mustard)
2 tbsp whole grain mustard
1.5 tbsp cornstarch
1/4-1/2 c cream of
12 oz. bag al dente® papparadelle
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
1. Season rabbit pieces on both sides with kosher salt. Heat a large heavy pan over high heat. Add a layer of olive oil and brown rabbit on all sides. Do in batches if your pan won’t fit all the rabbit at once. Transfer rabbit to dutch oven.
2. Drain off excess fat, leaving only 1 tbsp in the pan. Lower heat to medium. Add diced vegetables and cook, stirring frequently and scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan, until veggies are starting to soften and onions have picked up some color.
3. Add white wine to the pan and cook, stirring frequently and scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan, until the wine is reduced by half.
4. Transfer wine and veggies to dutch oven containing the rabbit. Add chicken stock to cover. Bring liquid just to a boil over med-high heat, then turn off heat. Cover pan with a parchment paper lid (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiN6gsOKGEQ) and place in oven. Braise for about 1 hour or until rabbit is done and shreds easily when you poke it with a fork.
5. Remove rabbit from liquid and set aside to cool. Strain braising liquid and discard solids. Put liquid in a wide mouthed pan and reduce by half. While liquid is reducing, shred rabbit into bite size pieces.
6. When liquid is reduced, whisk in both mustards. Mix cornstarch with enough water to make a slurry. Add to liquid and continue whisking and cooking until sauce has thickened. Whisk in cream to taste, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Stir in shredded rabbit.
7. Cover pan and set sauce aside to keep warm while you make your al dente pasta. Toss pasta with about 1/3 of the sauce, then top individual portions with additional sauce. Garnish with a little fresh thyme if you’d like.
