Recipe - Honey Roast Rabbit

2 small Rabbits; (abt 1 One half lbs ea)
1 cup Orange juice
One half teaspoon Freshlyground black pepper
2 teaspoon Ground fennel
1 teaspoon Saffron threads; crumbled
1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
2 teaspoon Coarse sea salt
2 tablespoon Lemon juice
One fourth cup Honey
2 cup Orange juice
Coarse sea salt; to taste
=== GARNISH ===
1 bn Watercress; coarse stems
removed
Lemon edges
1 md Onion; thinly cut or sliced up ,,
soaked 30 minutes
; in ice water

Rinse the rabbits and pat them dry with paper towels. Cut each one into
three pieces; the hind legs, the front legs, and the loin. Cut the hind and
front leg sections into 2 pieces each, leaving the loin in one piece. You
should now have 5 sections per rabbit. Place the rabbit pieces in a large
deep nonreactive bowl. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, reduce the
orange juice to half a cup. In a small bowl, combine the pepper, fennel,
saffron, cayenne, and salt. Add the reduced orange juice and the lemon
juice, whisk together, and let stand for 10 or 15 minutes. Add the honey
and mix together. Pour this mixture over the rabbit pieces, toss so that
each one is evenly coated, and let sit at room temperature for about 1
hour, loosely covered. Toss the pieces every 15 minutes. Preheat the oven
to 400 degrees. Remove the rabbit from the marinade and place on a rack in
a roasting pan. Roast the rabbit for 20 to 25 minutes, until done through
with no trace of pink remaining. Baste once with the marinade halfway
through the cooking time, then again when you remove the rabbit from the
oven. Place the rabbit pieces on a platter and surround them with sprigs of
watercress and wedges of lemon. Drain the onion slices briefly on paper
towels, separate them into rings and scatter them over the top. This recipe
yields 6 to 8