About half an hour from my house is a great bluestone mansion sitting by the banks of the Barwon River. Some Einstein in the nineteenth century thought it would be a nice idea to have a few rabbits run about the front paddock. So they brought them over from England. Those few rabbits bred up into a plague of biblical proportions and virtually ate Australia to the ground.

Ever since we moved to Geelong my family has been doing our bit to save Australia from this vermin. Dad was a mean shot, mum a good cook and my sister and I were hungry, growing kids. Rabbit is lean, flavoursome and surprisingly easy to cook. At MoVida, we love to confit rabbit. It cooks all the flesh without drying it out.

This dish creates its own bread sauce. The breadcrumbs on top become crisp and brown and the ones that fall into the roasting tin absorb the stock, cooking juices and flavour of the rabbit and thyme.