Gender and international development - reports and ruminations from around the world. Plus food, drink and travel adventures, by Gemma Driver, gastronome on the move.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Recipes, Please
We'd love to hear your interesting, unusual or outstanding recipes! Post them here and we can publish them on The Gastropod(.co.uk) site.
1 comment:
Anonymous
said...
Hi Gemma
You HAVE to try this recipe! I've finally got it sussed after having several bashes. It works great with chicken, and belly pork, and probably scallops & monkfish. Give it a go with a nice well-hung wild bunny.
Pan-Roasted Wild Rabbit with Coffee and Chocolate What?! Rabbit? With coffee and chocolate? Together?! Are you mad?! Hmm, Fowler’s respected tome on the correct usage of written English warns against excessive use of question and exclamation marks when attempting to get a message across on the page (as well as the use of long-winded sentences like this one). But how else does one accurately convey people’s general reaction to this - admittedly unusual - dish without a plethora of punctuation?
And where did the recipe come from, anyway? Mexican in concept, if not strictly in origin, the combination of chocolate and coffee works just as well in savoury meat and fish dishes as it does in desserts. Of course, a dessert using this mix would be referred to as ‘mocha’, so why didn’t I call this ‘Pan-Roasted Wild Rabbit with a Mocha Marinade’? Probably because, in my mind at least, mocha evokes memories of sickly sweet chocolate and coffee cake, and that would have given the wrong message.
This new title would, though, give a more robust clue as to the inner workings of the recipe, the key word being ‘marinade’. And speaking of robust, it would be easy to imagine these two powerfully egotistical flavours running away with the other elements of the dish, but they don’t. And especially when it comes to game, the marriage seems to stand up rather well. Indeed, coffee and chocolate may be paired with chicken, pork, meaty fish such as turbot and monkfish, and shellfish like prawns and scallops.
So, put any pre-conceived ideas aside, be brave with the ingredients, and tuck in.
Serves four
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons fresh ground coffee 2 tablespoons cocoa powder 1 tablespoon salt 1 teaspoon chilli powder 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 tablespoon vegetable oil salt and ground black pepper for seasoning 1 rabbit, portioned into eight pieces 1 glass dry white wine 300ml chicken stock
Heat oven to gas Mk7 (425_F / 220_C)
Stir together the coffee, cocoa, salt, chilli powder, and brown sugar. Rub the rabbit pieces with vegetable oil, then pat on the cocoa mixture. Place the coated rabbit in a glass or earthenware dish, cover with clingfilm and allow to marinate for at least one hour, but no more than three.
Brush off, but retain, the marinade, and rub the meat with a little oil. Season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then fry in the pan for about five minutes, turning once, until golden brown.
Spread the rabbit pieces out in the baking tray, and roast for 15 to 20 minutes or until juices are clear.
While the rabbit’s cooking, deal with the retained marinade: add the cocoa mix to the wine and chicken stock in a saucepan. Simmer for fifteen minutes, or until reduced by two thirds. Check the seasoning and add salt if required.
Serve the rabbit with the sauce poured over, and with some Guacamole on the side .
1 comment:
Hi Gemma
You HAVE to try this recipe! I've finally got it sussed after having several bashes. It works great with chicken, and belly pork, and probably scallops & monkfish. Give it a go with a nice well-hung wild bunny.
Pan-Roasted Wild Rabbit with Coffee and Chocolate
What?! Rabbit? With coffee and chocolate? Together?! Are you mad?! Hmm, Fowler’s respected tome on the correct usage of written English warns against excessive use of question and exclamation marks when attempting to get a message across on the page (as well as the use of long-winded sentences like this one). But how else does one accurately convey people’s general reaction to this - admittedly unusual - dish without a plethora of punctuation?
And where did the recipe come from, anyway? Mexican in concept, if not strictly in origin, the combination of chocolate and coffee works just as well in savoury meat and fish dishes as it does in desserts. Of course, a dessert using this mix would be referred to as ‘mocha’, so why didn’t I call this ‘Pan-Roasted Wild Rabbit with a Mocha Marinade’? Probably because, in my mind at least, mocha evokes memories of sickly sweet chocolate and coffee cake, and that would have given the wrong message.
This new title would, though, give a more robust clue as to the inner workings of the recipe, the key word being ‘marinade’. And speaking of robust, it would be easy to imagine these two powerfully egotistical flavours running away with the other elements of the dish, but they don’t. And especially when it comes to game, the marriage seems to stand up rather well. Indeed, coffee and chocolate may be paired with chicken, pork, meaty fish such as turbot and monkfish, and shellfish like prawns and scallops.
So, put any pre-conceived ideas aside, be brave with the ingredients, and tuck in.
Serves four
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons fresh ground coffee
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt and ground black pepper for seasoning
1 rabbit, portioned into eight pieces
1 glass dry white wine
300ml chicken stock
Heat oven to gas Mk7 (425_F / 220_C)
Stir together the coffee, cocoa, salt, chilli powder, and brown sugar. Rub the rabbit pieces with vegetable oil, then pat on the cocoa mixture. Place the coated rabbit in a glass or earthenware dish, cover with clingfilm and allow to marinate for at least one hour, but no more than three.
Brush off, but retain, the marinade, and rub the meat with a little oil. Season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then fry in the pan for about five minutes, turning once, until golden brown.
Spread the rabbit pieces out in the baking tray, and roast for 15 to 20 minutes or until juices are clear.
While the rabbit’s cooking, deal with the retained marinade: add the cocoa mix to the wine and chicken stock in a saucepan. Simmer for fifteen minutes, or until reduced by two thirds. Check the seasoning and add salt if required.
Serve the rabbit with the sauce poured over, and with some Guacamole on the side .
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