Braised Rabbit With Porcini And Polenta Recipes

BRAISED RABBIT WITH PORCINI AND POLENTA

Steps:

• Soak the mushrooms in warm water for a half-hour, then squeeze them dry, discarding all but two tablespoons of the liquid. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat; saute the onion, prosciutto and mushrooms until the onion is lightly browned. Add the rabbit and brown on all sides.
• Add the wine, thyme, salt and pepper and cook covered over medium heat for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, dice the tomatoes and add them to the rabbit. Lower the heat and cook, uncovered for another 30 minutes or until the sauce has thickened somewhat.
• In the meantime, make the polenta. Fill a large pot with three quarts of salted water, add the polenta in a steady stream and cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the spoon stands by itself in the center and the polenta pulls away from the sides of the pot. Serve the polenta in large bowls, topped with the rabbit.

BRAISED BROCCOLI AND PORCINI WITH POLENTA

Steps:

• Soak porcini in 2 cups boiling water for at least 10 minutes.
• At the same time, heat olive oil in a medium Dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallot and slowly saute until soft and juices have been released, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Remove porcini from the water and use a damp paper towel to remove any grit. Reserve soaking water.
• Add porcini to the Dutch oven with miso paste and yeast extract. Stir well and reduce heat to a simmer.
• Add broccoli; put floret heads facing down and stem pieces nestled in so they are touching the bottom of the pot. Layer radicchio slices evenly on top. Pour in wine without disturbing the vegetables. Cover and simmer, occasionally shaking the pan gently, for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring 2 cups water, vegetable broth, and salt to a boil. Sprinkle fistfuls of polenta into the boiling liquid while stirring constantly so clumps don't form. Continue to stir in polenta until completely added. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring often, until polenta is thick and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
• Strain the reserved soaking water, twice if necessary, to remove any sediment.
• Pour 1/2 of the soaking water into the Dutch oven with the broccoli. Gently shake the pot and use a wooden spoon to carefully loosen the florets without breaking them apart. Gently fold vegetables over until coated with cooking sauce. Continue to simmer, uncovered, occasionally shaking the pot. Cook until broccoli is tender but still firm to the touch and radicchio is completely wilted. Season with salt and pepper.
• Pour polenta onto a lightly oiled polenta board and spread it evenly over the board. Use a slotted spoon to gently spoon vegetables over the polenta.
• Pour remaining soaking water into the Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Make a slurry with the remaining water and cornstarch; pour into the Dutch oven while whisking constantly. Cook until sauce has thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour sauce over the broccoli and polenta or serve on the side.

RED-WINE BRAISED RABBIT WITH SAGE POLENTA

Steps:

• In a large bowl stir together flour and salt. Add rabbit and toss to coat. In a heavy kettle heat 2 tablespoons oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown rabbit in batches, transferring pieces to a bowl.
• Add onion and remaining tablespoon oil to kettle and sauté, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned. Stir in garlic and rosemary and sauté, stirring, 1 minute. Add broth, wine, and rabbit with any juices accumulated in bowl and simmer, covered, 1 hour, or until rabbit is tender. Remove lid and simmer until sauce is thickened slightly. Stir in parsley.
• Stir sage into warm polenta. Serve polenta topped with rabbit and sauce.
• To make basic polenta:
• In a heavy saucepan bring water and salt to a boil and gradually whisk in cornmeal in a thin stream. Cook polenta over moderately low heat (it should be barely boiling), stirring constantly, until very thick and pulls away from side of pan, about 40 minutes for cornmeal and about 15 minutes 2for instant polenta. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm. Stir polenta just before using. Polenta will keep warm, covered, about 20 minutes. Makes about 3 cups.
• Note: In the traditional method of cooking polenta, forty minutes of constant stirring is required to achieve a lumpless texture and fragrant flavor. However, Italian-food expert Marcella Hazan has developed a method that involves very little stirring during this time. We believe it produces a very good polenta, one nearly as flavorful and smooth as the traditional procedure. To make satisfactory polenta in a real hurry, an imported instant polenta (precooked cornmeal) is available. This cooks in a mere fifteen minutes.

BRAISED RABBIT WITH POLENTA

Steps:

• In large casserole over medium-high heat, heat olive oil and add onion, bacon, bay leaves, sage, rosemary and cloves. Saute, stirring constantly, until onion is wilted, about 4 minutes.
• Season rabbit pieces with salt and pepper to taste. Add rabbit to casserole, and saute until lightly browned, about 3 minutes a side. Add tomato paste and wine. Stir, scraping bottom of pan. Add stock. Simmer partly covered until rabbit is cooked, about 40 minutes.
• Remove rabbit pieces to a platter, and keep them warm. Strain sauce, and return it to a clean pan. Bring it to a boil, and reduce for 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Pour sauce over rabbit, and serve with polenta.