Braised Rabbit with Sprouted Wheat Berry and Fava Bean Salad
Summer is finally upon us! Those who are accustomed to the long hot days and cool nights of summer are ready to reap the benefits of our short growing season. Here at Rainshadow Organics, we are extremely lucky to live completely off of the land. My name is Luke, and that’s why I’m here! To kick off summer, the crew here at Rainshadow would to share some recipes to help you enjoy the nourishing food that is produced here on the farm and from our friends at the farmers market.
Yesterday I was lucky enough to take a stroll through our garden to harvest everything needed for a wonderful meal for the other interns and myself. It was hard to decide what to cook with all the different options around. I finally found myself walking through a row of beautiful fava beans and parsley, which helped me make up my mind. Here is a small look into what we get to eat on a regular basis here on the farm.
Braised Rabbit:
1 Whole Rabbit
1 Head of Garlic
1 12oz Bottle of Light Beer
4 Small Carrots
1 Spring Onion
1 Small Handful of Thyme
½ Gallon Chicken stock
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425. In a large roasting pan; lightly coat the rabbit with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Roast the rabbit until golden brown and delicious. Lower the oven to 300 degrees. Take out the rabbit, add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sweat down the rest of the ingredients on the stove top except for the beer and chicken stock. After the onions have become translucent, add the can of beer. Reduce for about a minute, don’t cook it too long or you will lose all of the flavor from the beer. After a minute, add your rabbit back in and add the chicken stock until the rabbit is about ¾ of the way covered. Cook until the rabbit is tender and falling apart, you should be able to cut it with a spoon!
Sprouted Wheat Berries:
1 Cup Wheat Berries
1 Quart Mason Jar
Water
Towel
Rubber Band
Instructions:
Start two days before you would like to enjoy the rabbit. In the mason jar add the wheat berries, add enough water to cover the wheat berries by a few inches. Cover with a thin towel and use the rubber band to secure the towel to the top of the mason jar. Let sit at room temperature in a cool dry place until wheat berries have sprouted.
Fava Bean Salad:
5 pounds Fava Beans (in their shell)
3 Cloves garlic
5 small Radishes
1 large sprig of Mint
3 large sprigs of Parsley
1 Fennel Frawn
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste
Water
Ice
Instructions:
Fill a small sauce pan with water and bring to a roaring boil. While waiting for the water to boil, take the fava beans out of their shell. Once the water has come to a boil, add your fava beans. Cook for about 30 seconds to one minute, or until the lining of the beans has become loose enough to peel off. Drain boiling water and put into and ice water bath and let cool. Take off the light green shell and what you will see is a beautiful and bright green fava bean in its true state. Set aside. Now its time to thinly shave your garlic and radishes (reserve some radish slices for plating) and add them to the beans when done. The next step is to finely chop your mint, parsley, and fennel frawn. Add to salad. You are now ready to add the wheat berries from before, plus the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.
Plating:
A few sprigs of the following:
Mustard greens
Red Veined Sorrel
Radish Slices
On the bottom of the plate, add desired amount of your bean salad, top with a gracious pile of your braised rabbit. Spoon a bit of the braising liquid over top for added flavor. And decorate the top with your radish slices, mustard greens, and red veined sorrel. Now its time to enjoy summer!
