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For 4 peopleÌý

1 wild rabbit, dressed* & jointed (see below)

4 rashers streaky bacon or pancetta, cut into 1cm lengths

2 carrots

2 sticks celery

2 medium sized onions

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced

½ bottle dry white wine

a small bunch of thyme

2 bay leaves

I small bunch flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

Black pepper, salt, olive oil

Seasoned flour (3 tablespoons flour, 1 tsp each salt and papper

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Jointing a rabbit is easy. Lay it out on a big chopping board. At the head end you will see the shoulders and at the other the legs and in between the neck & ribs and theÌý ‘saddle.’

Start with the legs. Feel for the joint between the saddle and the leg and, with a sharp knife, cut through the joint. If you get this right, you will not need to cut into the bone. It will make more sense when you do it than when you read this. Do the same thing with the shoulders. You are left with the neck & ribs and saddle; cut this where you see a natural line, leaving the saddle as a neat rectangle with the thin layer of breast meat underneath. You now have 6 pieces of rabbit.

*Dressed means that it has been skinned and gutted. If you have to do this bit (to find out how, google ‘How to skin a rabbit’) yourself, make sure that, having done so, you wash the carcass thoroughly under cold running water to remove any bacteria.

Dust the joints of rabbit lightly with seasoned Ìýand fry in a little oil until browned all over. Put to one side.

Meanwhile cut the carrots, celery and onion into bite-sized chunks and, in a casserole pan, fry them until brown but still firm. Add the garlic & bacon.

Now add the rabbit pieces, the white wine, herbs, another tsp each of pepper and salt and enough water top just cover. Bring to a gentle simmer. Tset the liquor for seasoning and add more salt if necessary.

Place in a low oven – 150c – and cook for an hour or until the rabbit is tender.

As with all casseroles and stews, if you can leave it to cool and then refridgerate overnight, the flavours and texture will improve.

To serve: reheat, add the parsley. Serve with mashed potato or wet polenta

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Serves 6

This method of cooking rabbit is brilliant because it absolutely ensures that this very lean meat does dry out in the process. As with duck leg confit, the legs, usually a rather tough cut, are salted then cooked very slowly fat to a melting tenderness.Ìý They are best kept in the fat for at least a month (I store them in the fridge), and will last three months or even longer, provided they are completely submerged in fat. That said, they’ll taste jolly good eaten straightaway.

Salt and fat are the three important ingredients here. Everything else is just bells and whistles, and can be adapted to what you have available.

1 tsp allspice berries (or ground allspice)

4 juniper berries, crushed

1 dried bayleaf

6 sprigs of thyme

12 peppercorns

50g/1.5 oz sea salt

2 tbsp sugar

4 cloves garlic

4 rabbit legs

400-600ml duck or goose fat, depending on the size of your pan (one duck produces at least 200ml of fat)

Grind the first four ingredients to a powder in a coffee grinder or a pestle and mortar.Ìý Rub them all over the rabbit legs, pressing in well.Ìý Mix the sugar and salt and scatter half over the base of a wide shallow dish.Ìý Arrange the legs on top in a single layer and sprinkle the rest of the salt mixture over.Ìý Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours, turning at least once during that time. Don’t leave them much longer or they will taste too salty.

Heat the duck fat in a narrow, tallish pan, one which will just fit the legs.Ìý Slide them into the fat along with the peeled garlic cloves, so that they are completely covered by fat.Ìý Cook on a very low heat, or in an oven at 150C for 2-3 hours, until the duck is very tender and threatening to fall off the bone. Pot the legs in jars or ceramic dishes, covered with fat.Ìý Cool and refrigerate.

To use the confit, allow the jar or pot to come to room temperature, heating in a pan of hot water if necessary to liquefy the fat.Ìý Fish out the rabbit legs, draining as well as you can.Ìý Save the fat for roasting potatoes or to make another batch (or two) of confit.

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Autumn salad of confit rabbit

6 confit rabbit legs

150g celeriac, cut into ribbons*

150g carrot, as above

2 small apples, peeled and cut into thin wedges

juice of half a lemon

a large bunch watercress, in small sprigs

1 head chicory, into leaves

1 tbs capers

12 walnuts or hazelnuts or – if available cobnuts, toasted and broken

a generous handful of croutons

a dressing of olive oil, cider vinegar and 2 tsp grain mustard

a small bunch of parsley or 2 tbs tarragon, coarsley chopped

I use a potato peeler to shave the vegetables. Place the shavings in a large bowl, squeeze the lemon juice over the top, add a tsp of salt, toss well, put to one side.

To serve: Reheat the rabbit legs in a little of the duck fat, drain them of any excess duck fat and remove the rabbit meat from the bone (it should be just cool enough to handle but still hot), into bite-sized pieces.

Gently combine all the ingredients, except the dressing, in the large bowl. Add the dressing just before serving.

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