Wines of Portugal: 10 Chefs 10 Wineries August: Roasted Saddle of Rabbit with Chartreuse flavors and Spring: Apple Street Farm Herbs and Sprouts/Quinta do Cruzeiro “Sousa Lopes Unfiltered, 2012”

To showcase the incredible versatility of Portuguese wines with food, Wines of Portugal is launching an exciting new culinary-focused program in the United States this April. The program, known as “10 Chefs / 10 Wineries,” will match ten Portuguese wineries with ten of America’s top chefs, culminating in an online cooking series and limited edition printed recipe guide that will be available to trade, press and consumers by the end of the year.

 

Recipe and photos credit: http://www.winesofportugal.com/us/food-and-wine/10-chefs-10-wineries/

Wine
Quinta do Cruzeiro
“Sousa Lopes Unfiltered, 2012“

www.adegacasadatorre.com

 

Chef Mathew Delisle – L’Espalier Boston, Ma.

Recipe

Roasted Saddle of Rabbit with
Chartreuse flavors and Spring:
Apple Street Farm Herbs and Sprouts

As a first course serves 4

Rabbit Saddle

2ea rabbit saddle
2 tbls olive oil
2 tbls butter
salt
black pepper
3 sprigs thyme
2 garlic cloves
2 tbls Chartreuse liquor

First, clean any excess fat and extraneous meat from around the saddle. Preheat a heavy bottom saute pan over medium heat and turn the oven on to 350 degrees. Generously season the saddle with salt and pepper. Add olive oil into the pan and saute the saddle on each side until golden in color. To finish cooking, place in the oven for 5-7 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and return to stove top. Deglaze pan with Chartreuse, add butter, thyme, and garlic; baste for 2-3 mins. Take off heat and allow rabbit to repose and reserve any juices and some of the pan butter to dress the final dish.

Spring Vegetables

1 cup English peas (shelled)
1 cup fava beans (shelled)
1 cup asparagus tips
12 ea ramps

Clean and wash all vegetables. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and prepare an ice bath. Blanch each vegetable separately (except the ramps) to desired doneness and then place in ice bath (to stop the cooking process). Peel the peas and favas.

Oyster Emulsion

4ea fresh – preferably New England Oysters
1 cup fresh herbs – chive, tarragon, chervil, parsley, dill
1 cup fresh spinach
1 cup grape seed oil
1 lemon (for the zest)
salt
black pepper

Shuck oysters and retain all liquor (oyster juices). Blanch herbs and spinach for 3 seconds in a pot of salted boiling water and then remove to ice bath. Drain well. In a blender, puree oysters and herbs together until very smooth. Then, on low speed, slowly add in oil to form an emulsion. Season to taste and zest in the lemon.

Pickled Vegetables

1 ea sweet onion (i.e., Vidalia or Maui)
2 ea small carrots

Slice onions and carrots into thin strips (either by hand or with a mandolin).

Pickling liquid

2 cups vinegar – white wine or white balsamic work best
1 ea star anise
5 ea green cardamon
1/2 ea cinnamon stick
1 tsp anise seed
1 ea mace
2 ea clove
2 tbls kosher salt
2 tbls sugar

Gently toast all spices over low heat until they release their aroma. Bring vinegar, sugar, and salt to a low simmer, just enough to dissolve the sugar and salt. Add toasted spice and remove from heat. Helpful tip: It is helpful to wrap the toasted spices in cheese cloth before adding to the pickling liquid (making it easier to remove later). Let the pickling liquid cool to room temp and pour over the carrots and onions, with the spices so that they continue to release flavor. Cover and place in the refrigerator and allow to sit at least over night (up to 2 weeks) so the vegetables can absorb the vinegar and spices.

Greens

1 cup wild miner’s lettuce
1/2 cup wild wood sorrel
1 cup petite nasturtium leaves
1 cup chickweed
1 cup sunflower sprouts
1/4 cup nice green olives, pitted
various herbs – chive, chervil, tarragon, and mint
1 cup Pistachio oil
1 ea lemon
finishing salt – Maldon or Fleur de Sel
edible flowers such as mustard, borage, violets, or nasturtium pedals

To Finish

Warm rabbit saddle in oven gently. Zest and then juice the lemon in a bowl, add pistachio oil and season to create a broken style vinaigrette. Heat one tablespoon butter over medium heat until it becomes lightly brown and nutty in aroma. Add ramps and various other Spring vegetables and lightly saute until just warmed. Remove rabbit from the saddle and reserve one loin per guest. Arrange oyster puree on the bottom of a large plate. Disperse the Spring vegetables equally on to each plate, haphazardly strewn about. Slice rabbit loin and place onto each plate. Garnish with generous amounts of olives, greens, herbs, and flowers – creating a Spring garden effect. Finally, drizzle dishes with the reserved warmed pan butter, rabbit juices, and the pistachio-lemon oil. Season with finishing salt and a touch of fresh ground black pepper if you like.

L’Espalier
774 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02199
(617)262-3023

http://www.lespalier.com/
https://www.facebook.com/lespalierboston
https://twitter.com/LESPALIER