Braised rabbit with carrot & thyme served with fresh polenta:
Serves 6

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Ingredients:
2 rabbits - boned
2 brown onions - sliced
2 carrots - cut into fingers
Half bunch of thyme - picked
6 cloves garlic - chopped
100ml white wine
250gms butter
1 cup plain flour
1 litre chicken stock
2 cups olive oil
1 x 500 gm packet polenta - prepared as per packet instructions
Salt and pepper

Method:
Step 1
Lightly flour rabbit. Heat oil and butter and sautee until golden brown, then place in baking tray.
Step 2
To pan, add onions, garlic, thyme and sautee for 2 - 3 minutes. Add white wine and reduce by a quarter. Add chicken stock and bring to boil.
Step 3
Add raw carrots to rabbit then combine stock mixture with rabbit. Cover with tin foil and cook for 1.5 hours at 220 C.
Step 4
Check seasoning and serve with prepared polenta.


Rabbit Stew

Ingredients:
2 rabbits, skinned and jointed
50 g seasoned flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
25 g butter
6 rashers of bacon, chopped
2 large onions, sliced
3 carrots, sliced
1 litre beef stock
1 glass red wine ( be generous)
100 g dried apricots, halved
fresh rosemary

Method:
Dust the rabbit pieces with season flour, reserving what's left over. Heat together the oil and butter in a large pan, and fry the rabbit for about 5-6 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a large casserole dish. Add the bacon to the frying pan and cook for a copuple of minutes, then add the onions and carrots and saute for 2 or 3 more minutes, then add to the casserole.

Remove the frying pan from heat, and stir in remaining flour and make a roux. Cook gently over a low heat for about a minute, then stir in the beef stock gradually. Heat until the sauce boils and thinkens, then pour into the pot with the wine, apricots and some of the rosemary. Cover and cook in a preheated oven (190 degrees) for about 1 hour. Garnish with some more rosemary.