'Don't Stop Bayleave-ing' Braised Rabbit and Herb Dumplings + Pre-made Spice Blends #Sponsored

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Book Club Cookbook.
I received complimentary product for the purpose of review and recipe development,

but all opinions are honest and they are my own. This page may contain affiliate links.

I love when friends email me with rabbit availability. I am always game! This time around my Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf was adamant, "Mommy, you need to make rabbit and dumplings this time, okay? Not cold rabbit soup, not braised rabbit with gravy! Rabbit and dumplings." Done.

Earlier, my contact at The Book Club Cookbook emailed, offering me a few more spice blends as a thank you for some other posts with their new spice blends. You betcha! 

I don't usually like to buy spice blends for one reason - there's always added salt. However, these blends are salt-free. Woohoo. So, I picked Don't Stop Bayleave-ing and decided to add it to my rabbit.

Ingredients

Rabbit

• 2 to 3 pound rabbit (this one was a little chubby, so I braised it and used half the meat)
• olive oil
• 2 C celery, chopped
• 2 C onion, peeled and diced
• 2 C carrots, chopped
• 2 T spice blend (if you don't have the spice blend I used, use some ground cumin, ground smoked paprika, ground garlic powder and a bay leaf of two)
• water and/or chicken stock
• 1/2 C wine (I used some leftover white wine for this version)
• chopped herbs for garnish, optional

Dumplings

• 2 C flour
• 4 t baking powder
• 1 T organic granulated sugar
• 1 t freshly ground salt
• 1/2 t freshly ground pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 C buttermilk (you can use yogurt, too)
• 1/4 C butter, melted
• 2 T fresh herbs, destemmed and chopped

Procedure

Rabbit

Brown the rabbit in a splash of olive oil in the bottom of a Dutch oven. Cook it for 2 minutes on each side to get a nice brown color. Add in the rest of the ingredients, except the parsley, and bring it to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 2 hours. 

Remove the rabbit from the liquid and let it cool enough that you can handle it. Pull the meat from the bone and reserve the bones for making stock. You don't have to use all of the meat. I reserved some for other dishes.

Return the shredded meat to the pot and bring it back to a simmer. In the meantime, make the dumpling batter.

Dumplings

Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Combine eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter in a medium mixing bowl. Fold liquid ingredients into dry ingredients to form a stiff batter. Stir in the herbs. Drop batter by the tablespoon into simmering stew. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Serve hot, garnished with chopped parsley, if desired.

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*Disclosure: I received product for free from the sponsor for recipe development, however, 

I have received no additional compensation for my post. My opinion is 100% my own and 100% accurate.