SC - Bunny recipes? (long)

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Hullo Henri and Antea and the rest of the list!

Mike and Pat Luco wrote:
> 
> Anyone have a really 'knock down dead' recipe for rabbit?  as long as I don't have to put
> it on a spit and roast outside its ok.  We had fresh bunny in Firenza and I was thinking
> about it today, but have no idea what to do with the furry beasts?  My supermarket usually
> has bunnies in the meat section so... Also is osso bucco especially period?

Osso Bucco is something I haven't run across a period recipe for, but
that doesn't mean there isn't one. There are numerous recipes calling
for either the meat or the marrow from a knuckle of veal, or even both,
but as I say, no actual osso bucco that I'm aware of. Maybe someone else
has had more luck, although I think this question was asked once before
on the list, and got no results.

As for Rabbit, here's a rabbit recipe we used at the event we often
discuss in terms sometimes heated but never boring (well, maybe
sometimes!) the East Kingdom's Spring Crown Tourney, held back in May:

Connynges in Papdele

“26	Hares in papdele. Take hares; perboile hem in gode broth. Cole the
broth and
wasshe the fleysshe; cast a3ain togydre. Take obleys o*er wafrouns in
defaute of loseyns, and cowche in dysshes. Take powdour douce and lay
on; salt the broth and lay onoward & messe forth.”
Curye on Inglysch, Book IV, “The Forme of Cury”, c. 1390 C.E.

What they did:
	Note that the recipe calls for hares. Hares are simmered in stock
(probably chicken, capon, or white beef stock) until the meat can be
easily removed from the bones. The stock is strained off the hares,
which are cleaned of all bone, gristle, and extraneous proteins like
albumen scum, which may or may not actually involve rinsing the meat, as
washing would suggest to the modern mind. The chunks of meat are added
back to the broth, and the stew is layered between sheets of cooked
pasta or wafers. The difference between obleys and wafers seems to have
been pretty minor: both are a thin pastry cooked between irons like a
thin waffle, and after they’ve sat in hare broth for a few minutes the
difference becomes even less important. Our hare lasagna is topped with
a mixture of powdered sweet spices like cinnamon and cloves.

What we’ll do differently:
	The primary difference is that we’ll be using coneys (rabbits), since
they‘re more readily available and sufficiently adventurous for most
SCAdians I know anyway. We’ll pretty much follow the recipe as stated
above, using chicken broth for our rabbits, and interpreting the phrase
“good broth” to include a generous amout of fresh herbs, like whole
thyme, savory or marjoram, and parsley stems. But, while the rabbit meat
is being removed from the bones, we’ll reduce the broth to a saucier,
syrupy consistency, and lay the meat between our loseyns, while the
recipe is rather unclear on just how the meat and pasta are arranged.
We’ll take a line from a recognizable lasgna dish as far as the
presentation is concerned. By the way, a nearly identical dish of
braised duck sforza on papardella was, until quite recently, a big
seller at Felidia’s in New York City

What you need to make eight small servings:
1 large rabbit, around three pounds, jointed
1 quart good chicken stock, low sodium if canned
dry white wine or water
optional: fresh herbs -- parsley, thyme, 	rosemary, etc. ; use 1/3 the
amount if dried 
optional: packet of unflavored gelatin if 	using canned stock
1/2 lb dry lasagna noodles (at least nine 	strips)
salt to taste
1/4 tsp powdered cloves
1/4 tsp powdered cinnamon
	
In a 3-or-4-quart saucepan, bring the rabbit to a boil in the stock with
the optional herbs and enough wine or water to cover the rabbit pieces
well. Reduce the heat to a simmer, skim, and cook for about 2  1/2 to 3
hours, or until rabbit is tender. Let the rabbit cool in the broth for
half an hour or so.
	
Meanwhile, boil your lasagna noodles in lightly salted water for around
12 minutes or until tender. Remember this doesn’t get a subsequent
baking, so it won’t absorb the tomato sauce that isn’t there anyway, and
get softer. Boil it until it’s as tender as you want it to be. Drain and
reserve the noodles, with a little oil to keep them from sticking
together.
	
Lift the rabbit pieces from the broth. Strain the broth and reserve the
rabbit.
	
Reduce the broth, if necessary: moisten the gelatin, if using, with a
little lukewarm water, until it puffs up and becomes clear. Heat the
broth and dissolve the gelatin (which occurs naturally in real stock,
but is more or less absent from canned) in it. Bring the broth to a boil
and reduce it to around 2 1/2 cups, by which time it will have thickened
slightly: you’ll see the bubbles that normally occur on top of boiling
liquid suddenly collapse, and the liquid will have become slightly
syrupy.
	
While the sauce is cooking, remove the meat from the rabbit bones.
Scrape rib meat from the bones with a paring knife, but the rest should
come right off using the fingers. Watch our for gristle. Give the meat a
rough chop if you want to, and add it to the broth/sauce.
	
Lay out 1/3 of your noodles in a serving bowl, and spoon half of the
rabbit hash (or stew if you’ve left it in big chunks) onto it, spreading
it evenly. Cover with another layer of pasta, followed by the other half
of the rabbit. Top with the last of the pasta. Pour any remaining broth
over the top. Cut like a tac-tac-toe board, dust lightly with the cloves
and cinnamon, mixed, and serve.   
	
HTH. This was probably the only dish we had absolutely no problems with,
and it was pronounced as tempting vegans to stray from their lifestyle.

Adamantius	 
	
	   
   
______________________________________
Phil & Susan Troy
troy at asan.com
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