Oven-Braised Rabbit with Herbed Dumplings #BakingBloggers

This month, Sue of Palatable Pastime told the Baking Bloggers that for April: "We'll be baking with herbs this month- anything goes, sweet or savory, baked goods, desserts, side dishes, entree,  you name it, as long as some portion of the recipe is baked." Here's the #BakingBloggers virtual herbs in baking party.

• Baked Spaghetti with Sausage and Meatballs from Palatable Pastime
• Herb-Roasted Chickpeas from Cook with Renu
• Ham and Herbed Potatoes Au Gratin from Making Miracles
• Herbed Chicken with Charred Romaine Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• No Knead Herb Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Oven-Braised Rabbit with Herbed Dumplings from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Quiche Lorraine with Herbs from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Sage and Caramelized Onion Sourdough Bread from Caroline's Cooking
• Rosemary & Garlic Baked Potato With Sour Cream from Sneha's Recipe
• Tomato Salad Topped Baked Spinach Frittata from Food Lust People Love

Oven-Braised Rabbit with Herbed Dumplings

Let me start by saying that I know today is Easter. Don't laugh: we almost always have rabbit on Easter. The boys laugh and laugh; they always asked, though, when they were smaller, "But this isn't the Easter bunny, right, Mom?!" Nope. A different bunny.

Whenever the boys see a rabbit in the fridge or freezer, they always request rabbit and dumplings. Once I made something else and they looked at it with disdain. "Mom," they complained, "why didn't you make rabbit and dumplings?" Fine.

Unfortunately, as we shelter-in-place to flatten the curve of the coronavirus, I didn't have any rabbit in the freezer. So, no rabbit for this year's Easter dinner. But this is a dish I've been making for years. I vary it based on what aromatics, wine, and herbs I have on hand; but, for the most part, it's pretty much the same dish. And they do love it! This has fresh bay leaves, fresh thyme, and a smattering of other fresh herbs.

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 bay leaves
• sprig of fresh thyme
• water and/or chicken stock
• 1/2 C wine (I used some leftover Rosé 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 yogurt (you can use buttermilk, too)
• 1/4 C butter, melted
• 2 T fresh herbs, destemmed and chopped

Procedure

Rabbit

Preheat the oven to 325° F. 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 place in the preheated oven. Roast 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.