Braised Rabbit with Onion and Mustard Sauce

New Year's Day Dinner and I decided I wanted to do rabbit. I've had rabbit a few times in restaurants, but I have never cooked it before. Hunted around in a few of my cookbooks and come up with a recipe I wanted to try from the New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins of the Silver Palate cookbooks. I needed to adapt it since the original which was " inspired by a dish from Restaurante Du Marche in Paris". called for three rabbits!!! Bit much for our small family. So here is my version

Braised Rabbit with Onion and Mustard Sauce

2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil
1 rabbit cut up
black pepper
1 large onion diced
4 garlic cloves minced
1 tbsp brown sugar
t tsp thyme
1 tsp ground fresh ginger
1 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp mustard ( used a thyme lemon flavoured mustard)
Veloutine or other thickening agent.if required

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Sprinkle pepper on rabbit. Heat butter and olive oil and brown rabbit. Transfer rabbit to oven casserole dish and cook onions and garlic till translucent.Add brown sugar, thyme and ginger to onion/garlic mixture. Add stock and mix. Pour over rabbit and cover dish Put in heated oven for 45 min to 1 hour.
Remove rabbit to serving dish and keep warm. Pour sauce into pan and bring to boil. Boil down by 1/3. Puree sauce and add mustard, and enough of a thickening agent make a not too thick sauce. Pour sauce over rabbit and serve.

All in all a pleasant taste. I would increase the mustard and ginger if I did this recipe again. Perhaps add a bit of cinnamon and/or allspice.