Rabbit Cassoulet

**Disclaimer: do not be intimidated by the rabbit. You can also make this dish with a rotisserie chicken if locally sourcing and roasting a whole rabbit isn’t in your game plan for the week. Traditional cassoulet also frequently uses sausage.

Here we are with Protein #2 in our Protein Trio and it’s a bit of a non-standard one. (If you missed Protein #1, I highly recommend you check out the hot honey chicken post). We don’t often cook rabbit but… we totally should! It is more delicate than chicken with more flavor, but still not too gamey. Here in the area, Whiffletree Farm frequently has whole rabbits but this particular rabbit we got pre-cooked at Sumac. I do adore rabbit cassoulet and I adore Sumac, so when I saw it on the menu I had to order it as one of our beautiful, locally-sourced small plates for lunch that day. Yet when Chef Dan came marching out to our little picnic bench in the sun ready to delivery the rabbit cassoulet, he came with an entire rabbit! The menu was not clear… I now understood the price tag on the dish. Obviously, we were stuffed having just finished a meal thinking this was the final course, so we wrapped up the rabbit, roasted delicately over open flame, and picked it apart the following day for this Sunday cassoulet.

Now let’s talk about cassoulet. It is one of those traditional French dishes that Americans like to try to make bougie. We serve it up in our Michelin starred restaurants with a unique protein like rabbit not understanding that a cassoulet is nothing more than a bean soup featuring whatever protein you can get your hands on. It can stew all day or come together quite quickly. Nevertheless, cassoulets are hearty and Fall-ish, and I am thrilled to have this one on my table.

what you need

4 cups dried kidney beans, soaked overnight

3 strips of thick bacon

2 large shallots, minced

5 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups Swiss chard, cut into thin strips

1/2 cup white wine

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

6 cups vegetable broth

2 cups roasted rabbit or chicken, shredded (*you can also use a local sausage in a cassoulet)

1/2 cup good parmesan cheese

Dried oregano, thyme, salt, and crushed red pepper

how to make it

Prepare the beans. Rinse the raw kidney beans until water runs clear. Place 1 minced shallot and 2 cloves of minced garlic in a pan and sauté over medium heat until fragrant. Add the beans, oregano, thyme, crushed red peppers, and salt to taste, and stir. Add five cups of vegetable broth, cover, and simmer until the beans are tender al dente (still holding their form well). This should take ~90 minutes but it can take up to three hours depending on how long the beans soaked and the nature of the simmer. Stir them once every 30 minutes and check the liquid levels. You may need to add more water as the beans cook.

When the beans are finished and the rabbit or chicken is roasted, you are ready to assemble your cassoulet.

Prepare the cassoulet. Heat a Dutch oven or large cast iron skillet on the stove over medium heat. Chip up the bacon and cook it directly in the pan until almost cooked through. Then add the minced shallot, minced garlic, and more crushed red peppers into the fat from the bacon, stirring continually for 1-2 minutes.

Add the substance to the cassoulet. Deglaze the pan with the half cup of white wine. Then add the Dijon mustard, four cups of the cooked beans with a little of their juices, and the cup of vegetable broth. Sprinkle with dried herbs and salt, and bring to a steady simmer. Simmer for approximately 10 minutes, then add the shredded rabbit and Swiss chard. Simmer for 5-7 minutes more. Remove from heat when there are still some juices left in the bottom and the chard is fully wilted.

Serve. Taste for salt and seasoning. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Serve over brown rice or barley, or with a few slices of thick, crispy bread.