Braised Rabbit with Fresh Pasta

I made an impulse purchase of fresh rabbit yesterday and then came home and didn't know what I was going to do with it... so I searched for a recipe and thought this one was appealing (source, Gourmet May 2003). It calls for braising rabbit in a red wine and tomato sauce scented with cinnamon and orange.

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Then, using a cleaver, cut the rabbit into about 6 individual serving pieces. Make sure to remove the kidneys, heart and liver. Season the pieces with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in an oven-safe casserole, then brown the pieces of rabbit.

Remove the rabbit and set aside.

Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the pot, then stir in 2 sliced onions, 2 minced garlic cloves, a long strip of orange zest, 1 cinnamon stick and 2 bay leaves. Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes.

Add half a cup of dry red wine, and reduce for about 2 minutes.

Add 2 cups chopped canned tomato and 1/2 cup water.

Add the rabbit back to the casserole and nestle it into the sauce, covering it as well as possible.

Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook at 350 degrees for one hour, turning the rabbit after 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, ask your sous-chef to whip up a batch of homemade egg noodles.

Serve the rabbit and sauce over the boiled noodles with a bit of finishing salt.

(I forgot the parsley :( Next time!)

Roasted Eggplant Salad with Feta Cheese and Pine Nuts

I really just love eggplant so much! I think I could eat it everyday. But, out of consideration for my lovely family and their opinion that is quite different from mine, I do not! Even though summer has come to an end, eggplant is still growing and going strong in our neck of the woods, and I had a big hankering for it yesterday and so I made this really delicious salad for dinner.

Ingredients (to serve 6)

2 large eggplants, sliced into 1-inch-thick rounds

1 tsp dried marjoram (or 2 tsp fresh, if you can find it)

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

12 oz. mixed salad greens

1/3 lb feta cheese, crumbled or cut into small cubes

1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

cherry tomatoes

Dressing:

juice of one small lemon

salt

pepper

• First, toss the sliced eggplant with the olive oil and marjoram in a large roasting pan, and roast at 400 degrees until done, about 30 minutes, stirring every so often.

• Meanwhile, wash the salad greens.

• When the eggplant is done, toss the salad greens with the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Divide the greens among 6 plates, sprinkle some pine nuts and feta cheese on top of the greens, then arrange the slices of roasted eggplant on top with a handful of cherry tomatoes.

Enjoy!

Fabulous Food in Portland, ME

This is a fantastic article. I love the focus on fresh, local ingredients and the collective spirit of local chefs tirelessly striving for the best. Never been there. The article totally makes me want to go.