Old-Fashioned Rabbit Soup

Name: Old-Fashioned Rabbit Soup (Soupe de Lapin à l’Ancienne)
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 1 cup heavy cream; Salt and freshly ground pepper; Herb bouquet: 4 sprigs parsley, 2 sprigs thyme, 1 small imported bay leaf, tied together in cheesecloth; 2 quarts unsalted chicken stock (storebought or homemade); 2 tablespoons rendered duck or goose fat; 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives; ½ pound carrots, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced (about 1½ cups); 1 garlic clove, peeled; Rib sections as well as tail bone, loose skin and fat, spine, and forelegs of 2 young, tender rabbits, or 1 stewing rabbit (see Note); 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot; 1 leek (white and pale green parts), well washed and thinly sliced

Soupe de Lapin à l’Ancienne

Preparation info

Serves
4 to 6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Cooking of South West France

By Paula Wolfert

Published 1987

About

This is a simple soup from the tiny village of Poudenas in the Lot-et-Garonne. It is delicious and worth making whenever you intend to cook rabbit. Since the front legs and rib cage of rabbits have little meat but are very flavorful, they are better used for soup. The saddle and hind legs should be reserved for sautés.

Ingredients

Rib sections as well as tail bone, loose skin and fat, spine, and forelegs of 2 young, tender rabbits, or 1 stewing rabbit (see Note)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2

Method

With a cleaver, chop the rabbit into 1-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
In a large flameproof casserole, heat the duck fat and olive oil over moderately low heat. Add the carrots, leeks, and shallot. Stir once, then cover, and cook gently for 5 minutes so that the vegetables become soft but do not brown.
Add the rabbit pieces; cover and cook for