Recipe - Australian Poached Rabbit With Bruschetta

1 Spanish onion, peeled and
cut or sliced up
2 Stalks of celery, chopped
2 small Carrots, chopped
2 Sprigs of thyme
2 Bay leaves
12 Black peppercorns
1 Rabbit
2 Cloves of garlic, quartered
16 small Fresh sage leaves
2 One half cup Extra virgin olive oil
1 Crusty Italian ring loaf of
bread (preferably dayold)
Mesclun, to serve
Lemon wedges (optional), to
serve

Bring 6 liters of salted water to the boil in a large saucepan. Add onion,
celery, carrot, herbs and peppercorns and return to the boil. Skim surface.
Add rabbit and return to the boil. Reduce heat to lowest setting, cover and
simmer very gently for 1 hour, or until rabbit is tender. Remove from heat
and cool rabbit in cooking liquid. Remove rabbit from liquid, strip meat
from bones and place it in a single layer on a plate or tray. Season meat
generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Return bones to cooking liquid and boil again to make stock to freeze for
another purpose, if desired.

Transfer rabbit to a bowl. Add garlic, sage and oil just to cover. Using
your hands, mix ingredients to combine, then cover and refrigerate for 48
hours.

Cut bread into 1cmthick slices and brush both sides with remaining oil
combined with 1 teaspoon sea salt. Place in a single layer on a rack on an
oven tray and bake at 150C for 30 minutes, or until pale golden. Using a
slotted spoon, remove rabbit from oil, and serve at room temperature with
warm bruschetta, mesclun and lemon wedges, if desired.

Source: Australian Gourmet Traveller July '94

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini