Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Trio of Wild Rabbit

Chef: Mat Follas as heard on Nine To Noon Tuesday 22 December 2009

Tags: main course, wild, rabbit

Ingredients

• 1 wild rabbit (Loins, Ribcage (rack) and kidneys required)
• 25g foie gras
• double cream
• butter
• 10 strips fine cut pancetta
• 4 stems wild nettles (new shoots)
• ½ tsp wild garlic pureed flowers
• 2 stalks of fennel fronds for decoration

Equipment:

• scissors
• sharp butchers knife
• bowl of ice water
• extra ‘J’ Clothes

Method:

Blanch nettle stalks in boiling water then put in bowl of ice water, pick leaves, dry, set aside.

Butcher rabbit for racks, tenderloins and kidneys. Clean and halve kidneys.

Bake slices of pancetta between oven trays till crisp and flat, cut rectangles.

Heat cream in a pan, slice fois gras and add to pan, heat, push through a sieve, put aside.

Wrap loin in pancetta, fry in butter, unwrap and slice, rest.

Cook racks in loin pan (for pancetta fat) with extra pepper to taste, rest.

Cook kidneys in butter till slightly browned, rest.

Mash nettles with a fork, adding a tiny amount of pureed wild garlic flowers to taste. Fry the nettles to heat them.

Presentation:

Serve on a long rectangular plate. (Make sure everything is dry, so there’s no grease on plate).

Make a circle of hot smashed nettles in the centre of the plate.

Place a blob of foie gras sauce to the right of the nettles, drag downwards with spoon.

Place the pancetta crisps on the plate to the left of the nettles.

Place the sliced loin on top of the pancetta and the kidneys on top of the foie gras.

Slice the rack and pile the pieces into a tower on top of the nettles.

Place a frond of fennel either side of the rack, leaning on the loin and kidneys.

John Hawkesby’s wine recommendation

Viognier
Gladstone 2009

Pinot Noir
Bouldevines 2008