Free Range Friday ~ Culebra

Wasn't it just Friday a minute ago? Maybe it is that the whole of the holidays from Christmas to Three Kings just blurred together. But they are now behind us, the new year underway. The 'tree' at the tire and battery guy's is already down and soon we'll be back to whatever is considered normal around here. 

Ok, into the food zone!

Yesterday while wandering Costa del Sol, the food fairy really had arrived! I looked in the freezer area with meats and saw what I was sure was rabbit. It was rabbit! Maybe five or six of them. I picked out the smallest and then posted a photo and purchasing info on facebook. 

I mentioned looking for recipes and Clive, from here on Culebra, jumped on the whole process. He went out, got his own rabbit and this is what we heard next.

"The dissected rabbit is now relaxing in a marinade of garlic, lemon juice, rosemary and thyme....Seems happy in there."

He later sent along this photo, naming the dish Coniglio brasato e pronto (which roughly translates, I think, to braised rabbit quickly ready, but I'll let Clive or some other Italian speaker do the actual translation ): 

I'm not sure what else is in there, but it looks delicious and I have no doubt it was.

edited to add what I got from Clive - 

1 handful fresh thyme and rosemary, leaves - use frozen or dried if fresh is unavailable
4 or 5 cloves garlic, peeled
olive oil
1 lemon - zest and juice 
1 teaspoon honey
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Grilled Rabbit Recipe | Game Recipes | Jamie Oliver Recipes
You can cook this grilled rabbit on the barbecue or in the oven, either way it will be succulent and amazing; this recipe makes great little rabbit kebabs.
jamieoliver.com

Either chop it all up and mix or blend it.

I took it from the Jamie Oliver recipe. Nothing original here. And I did not have pancetta so I used bacon.

Thanks, Clive!

Then Samela brought another voice to the table (as I was hoping she would!). Samela is an old friend (I'm sure I've mentioned her here before) who lives in Australia and wrote a wonderful cookbook called On a Shoestring - Recipes From the House of the Raising Sons full of funny stories and wonderful recipes. She's one of my writing heroes, and always lifts me to more fanciful heights in word play. Here's her take on one way to cook a rabbit:

"Irish roast rabbit is easy. As I recall: Segment rabbit and soak in water with a tablespoon of vinegar overnight. Lightly flour and brown. Place in casserole with a couple of chopped onions, a good cup of chopped good bacon and a generous handful of chopped parsley, plus salt and pepper. Add enough milk almost to cover and bake in a medium hot oven for about an hour. Serve with mashed potatoes."

I'm not sure what makes it Irish, but my rabbit is marinating as I type. I was going to go the wine route, I'm going to try this instead (although this recipe sounds so good - one day I will own a tangine!) . Weirdly, I had already bought a beautiful fresh bunch of parsley when I got the rabbit and now I know why.

Shellie, also from here, tossed in a lovely sounding chicken recipe along with a photo. Chicken and rabbit are fairly interchangeable, and if you just happen to have preserved lemons around (which I do, thanks to a lovely gift from Shellie!), you could try this one as well.  Or just use chicken, like the lady says.

"Ok MJ & Clive, I'll see your rabbit and raise you braised chicken w/preserved lemons & olives."

So along with solving the problems of the world on facebook, it's also a great medium for playing with food. In fact, I'd much rather do more playing with food but we must all work to save the world too. Sometimes, it's a smaller world we're saving. Sometimes, it's with food.

Have a figure it out Friday. Do something fearlessly.