Lapin aux Pruneaux en Cocotte

I live next door to a woman who runs a thriving trade raising rabbits—dozens, indeed hundreds, of them. Since there are ten rabbits in an average litter, and a grown rabbit sells for three times the price of a farm chicken, it’s no wonder they proliferate in backyard hutches. The most popular way to serve a plump rabbit, aside from roasting, is to simmer it with purple prunes, their sweetness accenting the mildly gamy flavor of the meat. Lacking a rabbit, chicken is an excellent substitute