Recipes for Main Courses... with Cornish Sea Salt
Slow-Braised Rabbit Shoulders with White Beans
From Week in Week Out by Simon Hopkinson.
Serves 2
120g (5 oz) dried haricot or white kidney beans, soaked overnight in plenty of cold water
4 tbsp olive oil
4 rabbit shoulders
Salt and pepper
½ tsp coriander seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
8 cloves garlic, peeled
2 bay leaves
100ml (4 fl oz) dry sherry
300ml (10 fl oz) water
Method
Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2.
Drain the beans and wash thoroughly. Drain again and reserve. Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed cast-iron or terracotta pot (cazuela), season the rabbit and gently fry on all sides until lightly gilded. Add the coriander seeds and garlic and mingle around with the rabbit until they, too, are moderately coloured. Introduce the bay leaves, sherry, water and the washed beans. Stir all together and add the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil. Cover and cook in the oven for about 1- 1½ hours, or until the beans are soft and the rabbit is tender and soft. A meal in itself; a green salad if you must.
FoodLovers tip: Simon suggests using rabbit shoulders, but if you can only get hold of a whole rabbit, ask your butcher to joint it.
RECIPE TIPS
A deeply comforting dish, this one. It is to the shoulders of a rabbit that one should look for the most succulent and tasty meat. Here, it falls away from the bone in the most agreeable fashion and it matters not one jot if some of the beans disintegrate somewhat during the cooking, for this also serves to thicken the juices.