Peter Rabbit Pot Pie

 

I thought the rabbit was REALLY cute. So sue me. (As Rick rolls his eyes.) 

If I had it my way, I'd make every Marie Callender's in the United States serve Rabbit Pot Pie. And instead of using potatoes, we decided to substitute with cauliflower. It's something different and works quite well. Not to mention, rabbit pot pie is A LOT healthier than chicken pot pie. There was barely any fat on our little cottontail. (I once made the mistake of looking at the calorie count brochure at Marie's.)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: about 2 hrs and 20 minutes 

Servings: 3 individual ramekins

Ingredients:

- 1 rabbit

- 1 tbs. oil

- water

- salt and pepper, to taste

- 1 bay leaf

- 4-5 tbs. flour

- half an onion, chopped

- 1 large carrot, diced

- 1 1/2 cups of cauliflower, cut into small pieces

- frozen peas

- pre-made puff pastry/pie crust/biscuit

- 1/4 tsp. dried thyme

- 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

- 1 chicken bouillon cube (optional)

- 1 egg yoke

1. Trim as much meat as you can off the rabbit. Cut the meat into small pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Discard any dark/bruised parts from shot. It's not good eats.

Keep bones for broth.

2. In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat oil and quickly brown rabbit (plus bones) on both sides (1-2 minutes).

3. Add water, just enough to cover the rabbit. I'd say we put in about 3 cups of water. Add 1 bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the meat is tender. 

Skim off any foam that float to the surface. You want the broth to be clear. 

4. Discard the bones. Use a fork to scrape off any meat left on the bones.

 5. Add in carrots, onion, cauliflower, thyme and rosemary. Add extra water if you need to, enough to cover all the rabbit and all the veggies.

Cover and simmer for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.

When veggies soften, discard bay leaf. We added 1 chicken bouillon cube for extra flavor. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

6. Make a slurry to thicken the filling: in a bowl, combine 4 tbs. flour and 1 cup (or so) of  hot broth or water. Whisk well. 

Slowly pour it into the dutch oven and whisk well, to prevent lumps. Let it simmer for a couple minutes, then check if you like the consistency. If not, add more slurry.

7. Mix in frozen peas. Rick hates peas.

Turn off heat.

8. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray ramekins with cooking spray and scoop in filling. 

9. Shape puff pastry/pie crust/biscuit to fit the top of ramekins. Cut a slit through the top for venting. 

Brush egg wash over top: whisk together 1 egg yoke and 1 tsp. of water. This will give your crust a nice golden, shiny color. 

Rick playing with extra dough... he made a carrot shape. 

10. Bake in 375 degree oven until the crust turns golden brown, about 20 minutes. 


If your oven doesn't heat evenly (as ours does not), rotate the ramekins halfway through.

Voila!











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