Recipe Courtesy of Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook
This type of classic French dish is the reason I adore French cooking. A hearty dish of slowly cooked rabbit legs that are first marinated in a fragrant mixture of fresh herbs, vegetables, and white wine and then braised for about an hour with the braising liquid, the vegetables, tomato paste, red wine vinegar and chicken stock until the meat is fall-off-the bone tender. Finished off with green picholine olives and a sprinkling of more fresh herbs, dinner doesn’t get much better than this.
For me, this is not only a superb dinner once it is served, but the process of cooking the dish and the culinary skills you are honing are equally as exciting. Taking the time to cook a classic dish like this is rewarding and educational for the chef at hand. Once you master the art of marinating, searing, making a sauce, and braising like you do in this recipe, you have learned an amazing amount of culinary skills just from one recipe. For this reason and many others, I adore everything this recipe, and everything this fabulous cookbook has to offer.
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
‘Lapin aux Olives’
Ingredients:
- Recipe Courtesy of Anothony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook*
- 4 rabbit legs
- 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 small carrot, coarsely chopped
- 1 celery rib, coarsely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs of thyme, plus 1 sprig of thyme, leaves only, finely chopped
- 1 sprig of rosemary, plus 1 sprig of rosemary, leaves only, finely chopped
- 1 sprig of flat parsley, plus 1 sprig of flat parsley, leaves only, finely chopped
- 1 T whole black peppercorns
- 1 1/ 2 cups white wine
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup flour, plus 1 T flour (for sauce)
- 2 T olive oil
- 1 T unsalted butter
- 1 T tomato paste
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 lb. picholine olives, pitted
Directions:
- Recipe Courtesy of Anothony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook*
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the rabbit legs, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaves, whole sprigs of thyme, rosemary, and parsley, the peppercorns, and the wine. Let marinate for 2 hours.
- Drain the marinade and reserve the liquid and the vegetables separately. Pat the legs dry and season with salt and pepper. Dredge the legs in ¼ cup flour. Heat the oil over high heat in a Dutch oven and, once the oil I shot, add in the butter. Brown the legs on both sides until they are dark golden brown, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove the legs from the pot and set aside.
- Add the vegetables from the marinade to the pot and cook over high heat until they are browned and caramelized. Stir in the tomato paste and the remaining tablespoon of flour and mix well with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1 minute, then stir in the vinegar and the reserved marinade liquid. Cook over high heat until the liquid is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Stir in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the rabbit legs and reduce to a simmer. Cook over low heat for 1 hour, or until the meat is very tender. Remove the legs and set aside.
- Strain the cooking liquid and return it to the pot. Return the legs to the pot and bring the liquid to a boil. Stir in the olives and the chopped herbs, season with salt and pepper, and serve on a platter.
- (I served the dish over brown rice, but white rice or even egg noodles would be very tasty*)
Tagged: Anthony Bourdain, braising, classic French food, French cuisine, French food, lapin, Les Halles, Les Halles cookbook, olives, rabbit, rabbit legs, rabbit with olives
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