Rabbit Ragout with Pasta and Apricot Sauce

Ingredients

• 1000 g rabbit leg (4 rabbit legs)
• 1 small onion
• 1 small garlic clove
• 1 small carrot
• 100 g turnip celery
• 1 tsp allspice berries
• 1 tsp cinnamon stick piece
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp juniper berries
• 3 bay leaves (on the stem)
• 50 g dried apricots
• 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
• Salt
• Cayenne pepper
• 20 ml brandy
• 150 ml dry white wine
• 1 tbsp Noilly Prat (French vermouth)
• 500 ml poultry stock
• 400 g pappardelle
• 100 ml heavy cream (at least 30% fat)
• 1 tsp Cornstarch
• 20 g cold butter
• 0.5 tsp lemon zest

Instructions

1. 1.

   Separate the rabbit meat from the bones and cut into cubes. Peel and finely dice the onion, garlic, celery, and carrot. Grind all spices except the bay leaves in a spice grinder. Halve or quarter the apricots according to size.

2. 2.

   Heat oil in a covered pan and brown the rabbit pieces over medium heat, seasoning well. Add the vegetables and apricots and sauté until fragrant. Deglaze with brandy, white wine, and vermouth; simmer until almost all liquid has evaporated.

3. 3.

   Add stock and cook covered for about 1 hour, then add bay leaves and simmer another 30 minutes. Cook pasta in plenty of salted boiling water to al dente. Strain the sauce, remove bay leaves, set aside. Reduce the broth to two-thirds, stir in cream, thicken with dissolved cornstarch, and simmer 2 minutes.

4. 4.

   Blend cold butter into the sauce with an immersion blender, season again. Return rabbit, vegetables, and apricots to the sauce. Plate pasta topped with ragout, sprinkle lemon zest, garnish with bay leaves, and serve hot.