Heeeey once again, it’s a Jamie Oliver recipe using meats I’ve never dealt with before. I had thought that it might be hard to find rabbit, but the first butcher I called said they always have them, so… no problem! We even got the butcher to do most of the cutting up for us.

That doesn't really look like much identifiable...

My second hesitation was that the stew uses beer, and I really don’t do alcohol. I know people say that it burns off when you cook, but it actually doesn’t cook off nearly as much as people think. It does add flavor, though, so I didn’t want to ditch it entirely, and ended up swapping half of it out for more chicken stock. I thought it tasted great, so…If you want to use the beer, do, if not, I think it’ll be totally fine.

Once in a while, I delegate.

Ingredients:

Dumplings:

• 3 cups self-rising flour
• 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
• a bunch of fresh tarragon, finely chopped
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• milk
• nutmeg

Stew:

• 2 rabbits, each cut into 10 pieces
• flour
• olive oil
• a knob (2-3 tablespoons) of butter
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 10 slices of bacon, finely sliced
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 9 ounces field, shiitake, or oyster mushrooms, cleaned and torn into large pieces
• a large handful of baby onions, peeled
• 2 X 12 ounce cans dark beer
• 1 1/2 pints chicken stock

Before starting the stew part, make the dumplings! Rub together the flour, butter, and tarragon with a dash of salt and pepper. Stir in enough milk to give you an unsticky, stiff dough.

Sarah was all over this!

Knead together, then roll into a large snake. Cut into 18 equal sized pieces and roll into balls. Place on a sheet, and sprinkle nutmeg over the top. (We skipped that, as I’m pretty anti-nutmeg.) Move the tray to the fridge.

18, 19, whatever.

Heat a deep, ovenproof dish about a foot in diameter with a bit of olive oil and the knob of butter in the bottom, over medium-high heat. Coat the rabbit pieces in flour and shake off any excess. Put half the rabbit pieces in the pot and cook about 5 minutes until golden all over.

Take those pieces out and cook the other pieces. Once they’re all cooked, add the first pieces back, as well as a big pinch of salt and pepper and the bacon. Cook until the bacon has crisped. Add the rosemary, mushrooms and onions and fry another ten minutes.

Mix in a tablespoon of flour then pour in the chicken stock and beer.

Cover and simmer for half an hour. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place the dumplings on top of the stew, about half an inch apart.

Drizzle them with olive oil and bake for 45 minutes. They stay soft and moist on the bottom, but get crisp on top. It’s pretty fabulous, honestly. We all want to do biscuits like this all the time now!

It’s not the most graceful thing to eat, as you have to work around the bones, but it’s well worth the hassle. Rabbit is apparently delicious, and the dumplings are perfect. Jamie Oliver’s basically a magician.

Rabbit Stew with Dumplings

From Cook With Jamie.

Dumplings:

• 3 cups self-rising flour
• 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
• a bunch of fresh tarragon, finely chopped
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• milk
• nutmeg

Stew:

• 2 rabbits, jointed and each cut into 10 pieces
• flour
• olive oil
• a knob (2-3 tablespoons) of butter
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 10 slices of bacon, finely sliced
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 9 ounces field, shiitake, or oyster mushrooms, cleaned and torn into large pieces
• a large handful of baby onions, peeled
• 2 X 12 ounce cans dark beer
• 1 1/2 pints chicken stock

To make the dumplings, rub together the flour, butter, and tarragon with a dash of salt and pepper. Stir in enough milk to give you an unsticky, stiff dough. Knead together, then roll into a large snake. Cut into 18 equal sized pieces and roll into balls. Place on a sheet, and sprinkle nutmeg over the top. Move the tray to the fridge.

Heat a deep, ovenproof dish about a foot in diameter with a bit of olive oil and the knob of butter in the bottom, over medium-high heat. Coat the rabbit pieces in flour and shake off any excess. Put half the rabbit pieces in the pot and cook about 5 minutes until golden all over. Take those pieces out and cook the other pieces. Once they’re all cooked, add the first pieces back, as well as a big pinch of salt and pepper and the bacon. Cook until the bacon has crisped. Add the rosemary, mushrooms and onions and fry another ten minutes.

Mix in a tablespoon of flour then pour in the chicken stock and beer. Cover and simmer for half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place the dumplings on top of the stew, about half an inch apart. Drizzle them with olive oil and bake for 45 minutes.