Roasted Rabbit with Pancetta and Olives

This recipe has been adapted from a January 2009 Gourmet  recipe by Toni Oltrani.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients -

• 1-2 rabbits, cut into 4-5 pieces each
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped thyme
• 2 tablespoon chopped rosemary
• 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes
• 12 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 (1/4-inch-thick) slices pancetta, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 24 oil-cured black olives

1.      Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.  ( we used Weston's Roaster Oven which allows you to save room in the oven for important things like dessert)

2.      Toss chicken with oil, thyme, rosemary, sea salt, red-pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon pepper, rubbing mixture into chicken.

Arrange rabbit pieces, skin side up, in 1 layer in a 17-by 11-inch 4-sided sheet pan. Scatter garlic and pancetta on top and roast until rabbit begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Drizzle wine over rabbit and roast 8 minutes more. Scatter olives over rasbbit and roast until skin is golden brown and rabbit is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes more. Let stand 10 minutes.

What better accompaniment to rabbit than carrots... here is a wonderful recipe for sous vide cooking carrots using Weston's new immersion sous vide.

Glazed Carrots

·         1 pound baby whole baby carrots, peeled or well-scrubbed, or 1 pound medium to large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

·         2 tablespoons unsalted butter

·         1 tablespoon granulated sugar

·         Kosher salt

·         Freshly ground black pepper

·         1 tablespoon chopped parsley or dill (optional)

1.      Preheat sous vide to 183°F. Place carrots, butter, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt in a vacuum bag and seal according to manufacturer's instructions. Cook carrots in the water bath until fully tender, about 1 hour. At this point, carrots can be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

2.      Empty entire contents of bag into a 12-inch, heavy-bottomed skillet and cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until liquid has reduced to a shiny glaze, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, stir in parsley or dill, and serve.