Rabbit Polenta with Porcini Mushrooms

Daria Souvorova

2 hours
serves: 4-6

We have been celebrating a lot here at Chez Nous Dinners of late! Over the past few weeks, we had our Catalan Dinner celebration, we celebrated Nico’s (my partner’s) 31st birthday with a Moroccan Feast, and the two of us threw ourselves a posh Michelin Star Inspired French Dinner for Valentine’s Day.

I wanted to do something special for Valentine’s day, so I searched through my pantry for amazing ingredients to serve as inspiration. I saw my reserves of Porcini mushrooms and started thinking of something to pair it with. Remembering a beautiful Rabbit and Porcini Bourgignon I created last year, I decided to mushrooms with rabbit, but to go in the white wine direction. I purchased a big hunk of prosciutto from the market and I had a plan! A delicious slow cooked stew of rabbit and mushroom flavored by white wine and prosciutto would fit the bill!

I wanted to pair the rabbit stew with a creamy and warm polenta. Since I was cooking the stew for an hour and a half in the oven, I figured why not try one of the slow-swelling methods for preparing polenta. After placing the rabbit in the oven, I boiled a bit of water, added the polenta and let it steep, covered, as the stew thickened. After an hour and a half, I added the remaining ingredients and warmed up the dish. This method worked really well because I did not have to do much active work right before dinner, so this recipe is a wonderful option for a romantic dinner or for a group dinner where you would like to chat with your guests instead of slaving away in the kitchen.

Our Rabbit Polenta followed after a beautiful appetizer of Escargots à la Provençale inspired by Chef Alain Ducasse. It is one of the most delicious things we have ever had, I highly recommend the recipe, check out our Escargots à la Provençale recipe here.

Check back tomorrow for our delicious Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry Coulis recipe!

Ingredients:

• • • 1 rabbit, cut into 9 pieces
    • salt and pepper
    • olive oil
    • 4 cloves garlic, minced
    • 2 onions, small dice
    • 5 ounces prosciutto, chopped into small pieces
    • 4-5 ounces of bacon, chopped into small pieces
    • bouquet garnis of 2 sprigs thyme, a handful of parsley, and a few sprigs of sage
    • 2 tablespoons butter
    • 3 cups dried porcini
    • a bit more than a half a bottle of white wine
    • 2 cups chicken stock concentrate plus 2 cups water
    • polenta:
    • 41 1/3 cup cornmeal
    • 6 tablespoons butter
    • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
    • 4 1/2 cups water
    • splash of heavy cream
    • salt and pepper

    

    1. 1. Heat a bit of oil in a large Dutch Oven.
          Season the rabbit pieces and brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Remove to a bowl.
          Brown the prosciutto and bacon. Remove to a bowl leaving the drippings.
       2. Add the butter, onions, bouquet garnis, and garlic.
          Season with salt and pepper and cook on medium to low heat until softened, about 8-10 minutes longer.
       3. Add the meats back into the pot.
          Add the dried porcini, wine, chicken stock concentrate and water.
          Bring to a boil, cover, and turn off the heat.
       4. Preheat oven to 325°F.
          Place the Dutch oven into the oven and cook for about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
          Season with salt and pepper to taste.
       5. for the polenta: In a medium Dutch oven, boil the water.
          Remove from heat and add cornmeal. Stir for a few minutes until thoroughly combined.
          Cover and allow to swell for an hour to an hour and a half.
          Add remaining ingredients and warm up if needed.
          Serve with the rabbit and mushroom stew on top.