Recipes by Mike Robinson: Rabbit Lasagne
The dish was created for the last Tuscan night at the Pot Kiln and was a roaring success. It is melt in the mouth tender and worth every bit of effort to make it. This is a dish for when you have time to get stuck in. It can be made in advance and finished in the oven when you are ready for it.
Ingredients (Serves 8)
- 4 Wild Rabbits, offal removed and jointed up
- 1 Onion, diced
- Duck or Goose fat to cover
- 8 Rosemary Sprigs
- 4 Garlic Bulbs, cut in half across the equator (skin on)
- 4 Leeks, cut down through the middle then sliced into half moons
- Fresh Lasagne Sheets (buy more than you think you need, you can freeze what you don't use)
For the Sauce:
- 100g of Butter
- 3 Tbsp of Plain Flour
- ½ Pint of Full Fat Milk
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 Onion
- 5 Cloves
- 200g of Parmesan (24 month aged parmesan has the best flavour)
- Salt & Pepper
- Put the rabbit joints into a large dish and cover with the fat. Push in the rosemary and cover with grease-proof paper so it touches the fat. Put on a tight fitting lid and cook in the oven for 3-4 hours until meltingly tender. At the same time, put the garlic bulbs into aluminium foil parcels, drizzle with a little olive oil and scrunch them up so they are sealed. Cook for 1 hour in the oven. Gently sauté the leeks in butter until they are soft but not coloured. Cool.
- Make the béchamel sauce by heating the milk with a bay leaf and the onion skinned and studded with the cloves. Add a few whole black peppercorns. Melt the butter and stir in the flour, then cook for a couple of minutes on a low heat, stirring to prevent burning. Slowly add the milk through a sieve and stirring to combine. When all the milk has been added check the consistency. It should be runny enough to pour but thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If too thick, add more milk until correct. Grate half the parmesan into the sauce. Cool with greaseproof touching the top to prevent a skin forming.
- When rabbit has cooled slightly, pick all the meat off the bones and discard the bones. Tear the meat into bite-sized pieces and mix through the two thirds of the sauce with the leeks. Squeeze the flesh from the garlic bulbs into a bowl and squash slightly before adding to the sauce as well. Season well.
- In your lasagne dish, start layering the meat with the pasta sheets, starting with the meat and finishing with a layer of pasta. Spread the remaining white sauce over the top and grate the remaining parmesan over the top. When ready to cook, put in pre-heated oven at 180c for 20 mins or until bubbling and golden. Serve with fresh salad leaves.
Rabbit Lasagne (728 KB)
