Rabbit with raisins, a recipe from a very good cook; Marie Noppen Thielemans, proprietor of the hotel-restaurant ” De Zwaan ” on the Grote Markt in Aarschot. The great-grandmother of Caroline Van Vlasselder and honorary citizen Johan Noppen. During the First World War the Noppen family had emigrated to England. In 1916 Marie Noppen published a cookbook in Dutch in England for Flemish refugees. Her great-grandson Johan Noppen is looking for this little recipe book. Should anyone own a copy of this booklet, please let Johan know at the municipal museum. Great-granddaughter Caroline has kept this recipe and has been preparing it for many years. It is always a great success with her guests.
In the past you had to slaughter the rabbit yourself: skin it and remove all the entrails, the heart, the kidneys and the liver. The heart, kidneys and liver were fried to be eaten separately. Sometimes they were also added to the pot. Otherwise they were for the cat or the dog!
Ingredients for four people:
- 1 large rabbit or 2 small ones
- 3 large onions
- farm butter
- box of light raisins
- brown sugar
- pepper, salt
- breadcrumbs
- cognac
Submerge the rabbit in cold water overnight and pour in a glass of vinegar. The next day, leave the rabbit to drain in a colander.
Cut three large onions into large pieces, half a box of raisins (or more to taste), five tablespoons of brown sugar (or more to taste), pepper, salt.
Let the onions brown in butter. Then lay the pieces of rabbit on top. Add pepper, salt and raisins.
Leave to simmer gently until the juice is almost gone. Add boiling water until the rabbit is covered and add brown sugar. Leave to stew until cooked; at least 2 hours. If the water evaporates, add some more. Taste! If it is not sweet enough: add brown sugar; if there is not enough salt or pepper, add salt and pepper. When it is ready, thicken it with breadcrumbs. That means: sprinkle them straight from the box into the pot and stir lightly until everything binds. Turn off the heat and finally add a splash of cognac. Do not let the cognac boil!
