I love to try and create something new and delicious from the ingredients I already have at hand. Since I am a big rabbit meat fan, I always keep a few gorgeous cuts of home-bred rabbit in my freezer. So after having my meat choice for the day sorted, I was off to our garden to see what sorts of vegetables it offers at the moment. I went with onions, carrots, spinach and zucchini. I am also a big fan of adding a bit of sweetness to the sauces I make to accompany my protein, so a delicious pear (or better said, half of it, which I had leftover from my salad dinner yesterday) with some honey and mustard was an obvious choice.
I spent my morning looking through YouTube tutorials on food plating since I want to work and learn on that angle as well. Of course the flavors must be right but since we also eat with our eyes, it is always nice to see a delicious meal look good too. Even if it’s just a regular everyday meal. The chosen ingredients and some plating studies led me to this delicious gourmet lunch.
Ingredients (serves 1):
140 g rabbit meat, cut into smaller mignons
1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced into larger irregular pieces
1/3 medium zucchini, sliced into small pieces
1 cup fresh spinach (or an equivalent amount of frozen spinach)
ground nutmeg (to taste)
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 pear, cut into small squares
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp mustard
splash of 100% apple juice and balsamic vinegar
olive oil, salt and thyme
Instructions:
1. First make sure that you have all your ingredients ready. You will also need two pans, two small pots, some cooking utensils and a hand stick mixer.
2. Cook the zucchini and spinach in a pot of salted water until soft but not yet mushy. It should take only a few minutes after getting to a boil. Drain and set aside. Add ground nutmeg and mix with a stick mixer until you get a thick puree.
3. At the same time, give the carrots a quick cook just to soften them a little but don’t let them cook all the way through like you would for a puree. You still want them to be a little crunchy. Drain and transfer to a pan with some olive oil heated to medium heat.
4. In the same pan, grill the salted rabbit mignons until cooked through. Keep turning the carrots as well so they are evenly roasted on all sides.
5. Lastly, cook the onion on some olive oil in the second pan before adding in the sliced pear. Give them a quick stir, then add the honey, mustard, apple juice and balsamic vinegar. Stir and add a bit of water at a time if it becomes to thick. The goal is to get the pear to be nicely soft but at the same time a little crunchy. Taste it as you go, you will know when it’s done.
6. Plate all the finished ingredients as you desire and sprinkle with some fresh or dried thyme. Serve immediately.
