Bunny boiling

Dad being of farming stock, he would come home sometimes with a newspaper wrapped package with a slight pink tinge to one end. I would be told to play outside, or play in my bedroom, but on no account was I to go in the kitchen until I was told I could.

A couple of hours later the most delicious smell would come from the kitchen. "Rabbit Stew in the name of the law" said Dad, no doubt pleased with his misquote of a mishearing. Anyway rabbit stew it was, and this is how it's made.

If you can buy your rabbit ready jointed then do so. Sometimes I get mine from my local market, and they are hanging up still in fur. The butcher takes them behind and sorts them out for me, although I do know how to undress a rabbit, having sneaked a peek at one stage!

Soak the jointed rabbit in acidulated water (that is, water with some vinegar added: about 1 tablespoon vinegar to 1 pint water) for about an hour. Drain, rinse well, pat dry with kitchen paper.

Now roll the joints in seasoned flour and brown in butter (or oil and butter, or oil, or dripping, depending on what's available). Add a chopped onion and some sliced carrots, top the pan up with stock to cover and season. Cover and simmer for an hour and a half, or two hours (it's quite forgiving really). You could add shredded cabbage or cauliflower florets at this point. Serve with dumplings, or in a large Yorkshire pudding.

This will serve up to 6 people very well, especially if you add potatoes to the stew.

Many years later I had a couple of friends who bought a pub in Sheffield. They moved in and my husband and I helped them redecorate the pub over a period of time. One Saturday evening, our reward for painting the woodwork was rabbit stew in a Yorkshire pudding. Well the smell permeated the whole pub and she got asked to serve this dish to the customers. So every Saturday evening at about 6 pm, rabbit stew and Yorkshire pudding was served.