Rabbit Provençal

 

Goes well with Baguette, Fougasse, or Greek flatbread

Attention! Preparation time a little more than 1 hour!

Preparation You'll only need: A large roaster with lid A large bowl to set the veggies aside A small bowl to set the shallots aside
Ingredients (for 3 persons) 1 whole rabbit 200 g shallots 2 bell peppers (1 red, 1 green) 10 dried apricots (if possible it should be the soft ones, not the completely dried ones) 600 g tomatoes 100 g fennel 2 cloves of garlic 20 black olives 1 Tbsp. tomato paste 1 Tbsp. ricard 2-3 stems thyme (if you use dried crushed thyme: 1 Tbsp.) Salt, pepper, mild paprika Ca. 100 mL water
Preparations Clean the bell pepper, cut into halves, remove all the seeds and the white membranes inside, cut in stripes. Cut the tomatoes into halves or quarters, depending on size. If using fresh thyme, rinse. Finely chop the cloves of garlic. Rinse the fennel and cut into small pieces. Put everything, including apricots aside in large bowl. Peel the shallots and cut them into halves, set aside in small bowl. Rinse the rabbit, pat dry with paper towel, remove head if it's the full rabbit, and cut into several pieces with a cleaver. Rub the pieces with salt, pepper and mild paprika.
Cooking Quick-fry the pieces of rabbit in a roaster in regular olive oil, until they have the desired brownish colour, remove and set aside. Quick-fry the shallots until they are medium brown, around 2 to 4 minutes. Add tomato paste (1 Tbsp.), turn heat down to medium, and continue to fry for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add all the vegetables, stir well, season with salt and pepper. Add the rabbit again, as well as 1 Tbsp. Ricard, 100 mL water and 20 olives, and let simmer covered at medium heat for about 30 minutes, stirring from time to time, always check for moisture and add water if necessary.