I always love to cook in France. The markets, the fresh produce, the deli's, the butchers. It's an absolute delight to cook. I manage to get a fresh lapin and the dish turned out so well that Mr J and his father were fighting for the last piece of the lapin.
I still cook this rabbit at home. Unfortunately, I can only get frozen rabbit from my local butcher. Sometimes, I substitute it with chicken but Mr J and little Miss C would complain... "It's not the real bunny!"
French Style Rabbit Stew with Baby Potatoes (Lapin avec Pommes Parisienne) Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 rabbit (ask your butcher to cut it into 6 large pieces)
- 2 large onions, quartered
- 2 carrots, cut into large pieces
- 600g baby potatoes, skin on* (See note at bottom of post)
- 180g diced bacon
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 2 ripe tomatoes, quartered
- 4 tbsp all purpose flour
- extra flour for coating rabbit meat
- 6 tbsp oil or butter
Method
- Coat rabbit in flour, dust off excess flour.
- Add 2 tbsp of oil in frying pan. Pan fry rabbit in batches until brown on both sides. Remove from pan.
- Clean the frying pan and add 2 tbsp of oil and pan fry the baby potatoes in batches until skin is browned. This is to add the rustic look on the potatoes. Remove potatoes from pan.
- Add 2 tbsp oil in large pot, fry onions and bacon for a few minutes until onions are soft and bacon is browned. Add carrots and tomatoes and continue cooking for a minute.
- Add flour, stirring until flour is brown and bubbling.
- Add wine, keep stirring until the alcohol has evaporated.
- Add chicken stock, bring to a boil on high heat. Return the rabbit to the pot, bring it back to a boil and reduce to a low heat, covered and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add potatoes, continue to simmer for another 30 minutes until potatoes are cooked.
- Serve immediately.
Note: This dish is best served with crusty bread to soak up the delicious sauce. I substitute Pommes Parisienne (Parisian Potatoes) with baby potatoes.