Rabbit rack with carrot puree and warm kale salad

For my second rabbit dish, I wanted to feature the loin and rack instead. I always loved the look of a chop of meat, be it a tomahawk steak or a lamb rack, because it appeals to that carnal instinct we all have from being descendants of cavemen. Despite that being an inspiration, I wanted to make a really dainty and pretty dish, just to showcase how elegant and petit rabbit is as an animal and as a protein. I decided to season the rack a bit more aggressively, and the loin more delicately, since meat that’s cooked on the bone will be a lot less forgiving to cook and I didn’t want to risk overcooking the rabbit loins just to develop a lot of flavor on the crusts of them. For my accompaniments, I made a wilted kale salad using a tahini-rabbit liver vinaigrette, and a ginger-carrot puree. In my recipe, I mention braising the carrots in vegetable stock, but you can use leftover rabbit stock if you have any from making the risotto dish as well, just to keep it more in line! For Frenching the rabbit racks, I will admit that it is a pain to do it. The bones are tiny, so you’ll be spending more time removing meat from those bones with a paring knife than you would actually having to cook the meat itself.

Makes four portions:
For the carrot puree:
1/2 cup diced carrots
1 tablespoon ginger
1 cup vegetable stock
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
a pinch of salt

Simmer down the carrots in stock with ginger and salt for about 20-30 minutes. Transfer the carrots and ginger to a blender and puree with the butter, adding in the stock to thin out the puree.

For the rabbit loin:
2 rabbit loins
a pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon sumac
1 teaspoon coriander
unsalted butter

Season the loins and sear in hot oil, 2 minutes on each side, then baste in butter for 30 seconds on each side as well to finish.

For the rabbit rack:
2 Frenched rabbit racks
a pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
unsalted butter

Season the racks. Sear in hot oil, 4 minutes on the bone side, and 2 on the other. Finish with butter basting, about 40 seconds on the bone side, and 20 seconds on the flesh side.

For the kale salad:
6 stalks of kale, stems removed
1 rabbit liver
3 tablespoons crushed walnuts
3 tablespoons dried raisins or cranberries
2 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons brown butter
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
a pinch of salt

Sear the salted rabbit liver on each side for 2 minutes. Puree with brown butter, tahini, and vinegar to form the vinaigrette. Toast walnuts and cranberries and soak into the vinaigrette. Saute chopped up kale leaves in oil until they’re wilted. Toss together.

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