Greek Rabbit Stew Kouneli Stifado Recipes

GREEK RABBIT STEW. KOUNELI STIFADO

Steps:

• Cut up the rabbits and cut into serving pieces. Be sure to include little bits, like the belly flaps, the front legs, the kidneys and such; they become yummy surprises in the finished stew. Salt the rabbit pieces well and set aside for 30 minutes.
• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a frying pan and brown the rabbit well. As each piece browns, move it to a brazier or Dutch oven or other heavy, lidded pot. When the rabbit is browned, sauté the onions for 4 to 5 minutes over medium-high heat, until they begin to brown. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Sprinkle with salt. Do not let the garlic burn.
• Turn the contents of the frying pan into the brazier or a Dutch oven, then arrange the bay leaves, oregano, allspice berries and cinnamon stick over them.
• In the pan you browned the rabbit and the onions, add the wine, sweet wine, vinegar, stock, tomato paste and grated tomatoes - cut tomatoes in half and run them through your coarsest grater to leave the skins out of your pot. Cook this down over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes, then pour over everything in the pot.
• Cover the pot and bring to a simmer. Cook slowly for 1 hour, then check. It may need up to another hour. You want the rabbit to be just about falling off the bone. You can pull the rabbit meat off the bone, as I do, or just let your guests do that. Grind some black pepper and drizzle some really good olive oil over everything right when you serve.

GREEK RABBIT STEW RECIPE (KOUNELI STIFADO)

Steps:

• Wash rabbit meat thoroughly and cut into serving pieces.
• Apply salt, pepper and flour to cut rabbit pieces, mixing through thoroughly.
• The addition of flour assists when browning rabbit (caramelising).
• Add olive oil to a shallow pot (allow oil to heat up), browning rabbit meat until meat is caramelised.
• Remove meat (setting aside) and in the same shallow pot add garlic cloves, whole onions and quarter cut onions stirring through thoroughly and transferring all contents from small pot into a large pot once onions have caramelised.
• Add browned rabbit meat into the large pot (over high heat) and add 1 cup of good dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris.
• Combine finely grated tomatoes, bay leaves and cinnamon stick, mixing ingredients through thoroughly.
• Cover the pot (over high heat) and bring to a boiling point, occasionally stirring ingredients through thoroughly.
• Reduce to medium heat, stir through ingredients and cover the pot until stew turns into a thick, rich consistency (tasting occasionally).