1 h 45 min

Lapin à la Moutarde (Rabbit with Mustard & Bacon)

Name: Lapin à la Moutarde (Rabbit with Mustard & Bacon)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 rabbit, or 4 rabbit legs; 1.00 tbsp Flour; 60.00 g (plus 30g to finish the sauce) Charentes-Poitou Butter PDO; 2.00 tbsp Olive oil; 2.00 peeled and sliced into half-moons Traditional Shallots; 1.00 head (broken into cloves) Drôme White Garlic PGI; x 1.00 Big sprig of thyme; 0.50 bottle French white wine; 250.00 ml (or just use water) light chicken stock; 199.99 ml Double cream; 2.00 tbsp Burgundy Mustard PGI; 2.00 tbsp Grain mustard; 4.00 rashers Smoked Alsace Bacon

By Alex Jackson, Chef

Here's a recipe for a dish that I cooked for the first time in Paris. We bought a whole rabbit from the market in the morning, and some excellent mustard from Dijon, and because we had never made Lapin à la Moutarde, we thought we would give it a try. We cooked it in one of those tiny electrical ovens that hangs off the wall, and it struck us that at that moment we were eating as well as anyone in the city might hope to.

Preparation time

15 min

Ingredients For

1 rabbit, or 4 rabbit legs
Flour 1 tbsp
Charentes-Poitou Butter PDO

60 g (plus 30g to finish the sauce) See the article
Olive oil 2 tbsp
Traditional Shallots

2 peeled and sliced into half-moons See the article
Drôme White Garlic PGI

1 head (broken into cloves) See the article
Big sprig of thyme x 1
French white wine 0.50 bottle
light chicken stock 250 ml (or just use water)
Double cream 199.99 ml
Sauces & condiments

Burgundy Mustard PGI

2 tbsp See the article
Grain mustard 2 tbsp
Smoked Alsace Bacon 4 rashers

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Preparation

Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

If using a whole rabbit, cut into 6 pieces: remove the hind and front legs, then cut away the head and ribcage and discard (keep any offal for a tasty snack). Cut the loin into two pieces. Season the pieces of rabbit with salt and pepper and dust lightly with the flour.

Brown the rabbit in butter and olive oil in a roomy pot. When a lovely golden-brown crust has formed, remove the rabbit and set aside. Add the shallots, garlic and thyme to the pot and soften the shallots for 5–10 minutes, adding more butter if it looks a little dry. Put the rabbit back in and pour over the white wine. Bring to the boil, then add the stock or water, so that the rabbit is mostly covered by the liquid but the top bit is above the surface.

Cover with a lid and put it into the oven. Cook for approximately 1 hour, or until the rabbit is soft and will come off the bone if given a nudge. When cooked, remove the rabbit, put the pieces on a baking tray, and keep warm. Put the slices of bacon into the oven to crisp them up, then remove and keep warm with the rabbit.

To finish the sauce, strain the juices from the braise and return to the pot. Bring to a simmer. You might feel like the juices need to be reduced slightly if they are underwhelming. When you are happy that the sauce tastes full, pour in the cream. Bring again to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, then whisk in both mustards and the 2 tbsp of (cubed, cold) butter. Taste again for seasoning – the sauce should have a full mustardy flavour.

Put a portion of rabbit (either a hind leg or a piece each of loin and front leg) on each plate, pour over the sauce, and put a piece of crisp bacon on top. Serve with some boiled and dressed savoy cabbage or spinach.