Poachers Pocket

The other day, when we were moored at Froncysyllte, we watched 2 guys on the opposite bank catching rabbits.  They'd covered a couple of rabbit holes in the hedgerow with netting and then sent a polecat down to flush out the rabbits.  It seems that rabbit meat is quite popular round here as we've seen plenty for sale, both in the local butchers and in the NISA supermarket in Llangollen. It's a very healthy meat being extremely low fat. It's also very tender and is one of our favourites, so when the butchers in Chirk had some nice meaty ones the other day I couldn't resist. It also seems quite appropriate as we're now moored at the Poachers Pocket pub.

This is a recipe I used to make years ago, I hope you like it, we certainly did!

Rabbit with mustard and prunes  - serves 4
1 rabbit cut into 6 joints
1 tblsp plain flour
1 finely chopped onion
12 ready to eat prunes
1 tablespoon creme fraiche
1 dessert spoon Dijon mustard
salt & pepper

Put the flour into a plastic bag, add the joints one at a time and shake to coat in the flour.

Gently brown in olive oil, don't overcrowd the pan or they will just stew rather than brown.

Add the onions and prunes and pour over just enough water to cover.
Season with salt and pepper and simmer on a low heat for 45 mins. till tender.
Remove the rabbit with a slotted spoon and keep warm.
Add the mustard and creme fraiche to the sauce and then simmer until reduced a bit. You can also mash the prunes into the sauce if you like.

Serve with mashed potatoes and green veg.