Friday Recipe - Curry Rabbit and Figs with Black Eyed BEANS and Spinach

With the exception of the broth, this entire recipe was sourced from the local farmers market - which could be one of my first ever - and only the beginning! I normally would have my own broth or one from my favorite chef, but unfortunately, he has been on break for the summer - sad face.

Sorry! Took this picture and had forgotten the figs!

So, I think rabbit is kind of safe (like chicken - feel like it goes with anything), but with the advice of the friendly folks at the farmers market, I was able to put something together a little more sophisticated than usual (granted, only slightly - I'm all about easy and fast cooking - minimal cleanup!). Here are my ingredients:

• A rabbit of any size - mine was a little over 3 pounds
• 16 ounces (or more or less depending on your tastes) curry sauce of choice (mine courtesy of The Curry Cup http://thecurrycup.tumblr.com/#)

• If you can't find a similar product at your market, just mix some tomato sauce (watered down a bit) with indian spices and herbs of your choice like coriander, cumin, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and clove and add in a bay leaf, onions, garlic and salt
• 16 ounces black eyed beans (fresh)
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup filtered water
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 8 figs
• A couple bunches of spinach

In preparation for this meal, marinate the rabbit in the curry sauce in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes beforehand. Then, rinse the blackeyes and put them in the crock pot. Add the vegetable broth and water until there is more than enough water for the beans to absorb when cooking. Then place the marinated rabbit into the pot and pour in the marinade. Set the crock pot to the low setting and cover.

Now, many people cut up the rabbit into a handful of pieces and brown it before putting into a slow cooker. This is braising. I am sure this enhances the flavor, but is an extra step (and more dishes to clean!) that I don't care to take. You can do whatever you like.

After an hour on low, rinse the cilantro, roughly chop it and placed on top of the rabbit and peas. Set the timer for another hour. When the hour has passed, check the temperature of the rabbit. I usually cook my chicken and rabbit to about 160 degrees, but most people cook a little higher than that. I find personally that if I let my meats get much hotter, they become too dry. But safety first and do what makes your comfortable.

Now, you might find the rabbit is done but the beans could use a little more time. That's actually perfect! Turn the slow cooker to high and let them sit a little longer. I let mine go somewhere between another 30 minutes to an hour before I pulled them. If you want to keep the rabbit warm, place it in a covered pan and put in a warm oven - very low temperature; again, I would rather have room temperature tender rabbit on hot beans than dry meat.

When the beans are getting close to done (about 20 minutes left), wash and chop your figs and place them into the slow cooker. Once the beans and figs are done, wash your spinach and quickly saute in a pan on the stove. I usually drop some water into a non-stick pan and cover, stirring frequently to ensure it doesn't overcook. I sprinkle with pepper and ground garlic if I have it.


Now that everything is done, throw everything together and drizzle the marinade all over. Now, just enjoy! 

Had some leftover cauliflower here - not from market :(

Nutrition (estimated as best as possible for rabbit, spinach, figs, blackeyes and veggie broth):

Does NOT include sauce, spices, cilantro, any added salt

per serving...

• General:
• 400 calories
• 4g fat, 1g saturated fat
• 53 carbs - 15g fiber - 17g sugar (half of sugar from fig)
• 39g protein
• Nutrients:
• 405% Vitamin A
• 37% Vitamin C
• 23% Vitamin E
• 1172% Vitamin K
• 26% Thiamin
• 45% Riboflavin
• 44% Niacin
• 45% B6
• 121% Folate
• 92% B12
• 50% Calcium
• 71% Iron
• 70% Magnesium
• 39% Phosphorus
• 56% Potassium
• 34% Zinc
• 36% Copper
• 135% Manganese
• 28% Selenium
• 35% Cholesterol

Estimated servings = 8

Estimated cost/serving = $7.50

A bit of a premium to regular meals, but quality rabbit, fresh beans and homemade curry sauce were definitely worth it!