Braised Rabbit

Place the rabbit pieces in a large bowl. Pour the olive oil over the meat. Remove the leaves from the Rosemary sprigs and add to the bowl with the Juniper berries. Mix well with the meat and let stand, covered, in the fridge for at least an hour to marinate.

Finely dice the onion. Remove most of the green part from the leek and split it lengthways. Check to make sure there is no soil present between the leek layers and wash well if there is any. Finely slice the leek. Slice the carrot diagonally. The skin can be left on or removed as preferred. Chop the celery medium to finely.

Heat a heavy based frypan to high heat. Add a little of the oil that was used to marinate the rabbit in. When the pan is good and hot saute the rabbit lightly to just brown the meat. Don't overcook it or it will taste burned in the finished dish.

Place the onion, leek and chopped celery in a heavy based frypan and sweat till just translucent.

Place the sweated vegetables in a slow cooker or casserole dish. Add the rabbit meat, carrot and the chicken stock. Set to high and cook for around three hours. Check the tenderness of the meat from time to time with a skewer. If the meat falls off the skewer easily then it's done. In a casserols dish you should set the oven to approx 150 degrees C. Once the meat is done remove it to a dish. Place the remaining liquid into a suitable size saucepan. At this stage you can either reduce it to thicken it or add arrowroot. To use the arrowroot first add a little water to a small bowl. Sprinkle in the arrowroot and mix well. This can then be added to the sauce to thicken it. Just cook for a little longer to finish. Serve poured over the rabbit in a bowl.