Recipes for stuffed saddle of rabbit and roasted flat fish

He showed up with a bag later that day. "My wife's uncle raises them and he killed a couple for you this morning".

There they were, whole, heads on and all the other bits. At least they were skinned.

To be reminded that food doesn't just come in film-covered trays on chilled supermarket shelves is a vivid experience. If I'm going to eat it, I should be prepared to face it.

The finished stuffed saddle of rabbit (Image: Frances Bissell)

It was with this in mind that I wrote The Real Meat Cookbook in the 90s.

Cooking in Gozo I quickly became used to dealing with food with a face.  As well as rabbits, most of the fish we eat there I buy whole from the fishmonger.

She will clean and scale as necessary, but the fish hawkers travelling from village to village with the small boats' catches don't even do that.

At home I usually buy and cook a whole fish, often a flat fish, generally roasting it. But cooking for more I would buy individual fish and let everyone do their own filleting at the table.

To make a sauce for the fish, I cut off the head and any trimmings, and make a stock. (see recipe) Plaice, lemon sole and brill have rather softer flesh than turbot and John Dory, so require the shorter cooking time.Preparing the fish for roasting. (Image: Frances Bissell)

What did I do with the rabbits?  Lots of things. The best part is the heart, kidneys and liver, which I carefully remove from the cavity and put aside for a first course, frying them quickly until just pink inside, deglazing the pan with a little balsamico, and serving with salad leaves.

The rabbits are easy to joint; shoulders and hind legs off first, then a decision to be made about the saddle. This I like to bone and stuff.

I have tried a minced pork and prune stuffing, but in the end, I have come to prefer the bread and herb stuffing I use for chicken. However, if I want to make a big casserole with all the rabbit, I'll chop the saddle into two or three chunks. Head and trimmings for stock.

For two people, one rabbit will give four splendid dishes; the salad, the shoulders made into a ragu for pasta, the hind legs a substantial casserole, to which I add broken potatoes, and towards the end of cooking, a handful or two of peas.

And the stuffed saddle makes a handsome little Sunday roast.

All of these suggestions are based on farmed rabbit. If you are lucky enough to have a source of wild rabbit, this will need longer cooking and a lower temperature. It will also need lubricating and juice, but not pancetta or bacon, which changes the flavour of the delicate meat. I prefer to use a piece of fat belly pork with the skin left on.Once prepared you can stuff and roll the saddle of rabbit. (Image: Frances Bissell)

Seasonal suggestion. Nothing to do with rabbit or fish, but there is an abundance of imported kaki fruit at the moment. One evening I sliced a couple paper thin and served with buffalo mozzarella and culatello.

This was so good it scarcely needed the olive oil and balsamico I added. Roughly cut up and put in the mini-chopper with some celery leaves - not having any coriander, a piece of the tender part of a leek - having run out of onions and shallots, a few miniature tomatoes that needed using, green chilli, salt, lime zest and juice, the kaki made an excellent 'impromptu' salsa to accompany fish cakes, to which I had added finely chopped fennel and tops - being without spring onions.
 
Roasted flat fish (Serves 2 to 4)

This recipe will work for plaice, John Dory, brill, turbot and lemon sole.  A white Rhone wine is an excellent accompaniment. As an alternative, consider a bottle of chilled fino.

Ingredients:

1 kilo flat fish
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Splash of white wine or fino, or fresh orange juice
Salt
Black pepper
Herbs of choice

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180 C fan/200 C
Have the head and fins removed, but use these trimmings to make a little stock with water, some white wine or a tablespoon of orange juice and a sliced celery stalk.

Use it to make sauce for the fish, simmering for 15 minutes or so and then straining into a small saucepan.

Take a large piece of foil or baking parchment, place it on a baking tray and twist up the corners. Butter or oil it and place the fish on top. Brush the oil and wine or juice over the fish, and tuck your chosen herbs around the fish; bay leaves or marjoram are my favourites.

Season lightly. Roast for 20-25 minutes 180 C, remove the fish from the oven and leave it to stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. You should be able to lift the skin from the tail end and remove it in one piece.

Meanwhile strain any cooking juice into the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer until reduced to almost a glaze. Add the cream, stirring well, bring back to simmering point and add the butter. Shake the pan to blend well, then serve with the fish.

Steamed Charlotte potatoes, and some buttered leeks or spinach make the perfect accompaniments.

Stuffed saddle of rabbit (Serves 4)

Halve the ingredients if you want just one saddle.
 
Ingredients:

2 saddles of rabbit
300 g day-old bread, broken or diced small
75 ml milk
Finely grated zest of a lemon
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon sage, finely chopped
Seasoning
1 small egg, lightly beaten
Olive oil or butter
150 ml red or white wine, or pomegranate juice

Method:

Carefully remove the two fillets and flaps from each side of the backbone, scraping down from the backbone and over the ribs with a sharp knife.

Place the two fillets from each saddle side by side, with the flaps overlapping, leaving a ‘channel’ to stuff. Slide 7 or 8 lengths of string under the meat, so that you will be able to tie the stuffed roll at intervals.

Soak the bread in the milk for 10 minutes or so, then add the lemon zest, herbs, a little seasoning, and mix in some of the beaten egg, but not too much; the mixture should be damp but not wet. Spoon this into the ‘channel’, lightly pressing it to fill the space.

Carefully bring the edges together and tie the stuffed fillets, pushing back any stuffing that escapes. Stuff the other two fillets in the same way.

Heat a small amount of oil or butter in a frying pan then handling them carefully, brown the stuffed saddles all over. Transfer them to a casserole.

Deglaze the frying pan with wine or juice, add it to the casserole, cover with a lid and cook at 150 C fan/180 C for 1-1 1/2 hours.

Check for juices running clear. Let the meat rest for 20 minutes before slicing.  
A gratin of potatoes can be cooked at the same time as the rabbit; even better add thinly sliced celeriac.

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