Autumn is the season for game – so now is the time to buy fresh, regional game meat. Game is a great way to introduce some variety into menus and it contains a lot of healthy constituents. As a treat we have selected haunch of wild rabbit in balsamic sauce for you today.

Ingredients for 2 persons:
2 ready-to-cook haunches of wild rabbit (each c. 350g to 400 g)
1 small onion
80 g carrots
60 g celeriac
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp tomato purée
250 ml grape juice
50 ml balsamic vinegar
500 ml chicken, beef or vegetable stock
1 small bay leaf
12 black peppercorns
6 juniper berries
1 star anise
1 small piece of cinnamon
1 strip of orange peel
1 strip of lemon peel
1 sprig of thyme
1 clove of garlic
Salt

Tip:
Mash potato, spätzle (type of South German pasta) or fine noodles make great side dishes to accompany this meal as well as vegetables such as kohlrabi, broccoli, sugar snap peas and/or carrots.
Cranberries, sliced apple, sour cream and/or creme fraîche also complement the flavours perfectly.

Preparation (preparation time 1 hour, cooking time 2 hours):

Peel the onion, carrots and celeriac and chop into 1 cm cubes.

Heat the oil in a stew pot and fry the haunches of wild rabbit until they are evenly browned. Add the cubed vegetables and lightly fry on a gentle heat. Add the tomato purée and briefly cook, then add the spices and pour a third of the grape juice into the pot. Allow the liquid to reduce to half the volume. Now add the rest of the juice and the stock, and bring to the boil. Cover with lid, reduce the heat and allow to stew (simmer) on a gentle heat for approximately 2 hours.

When the haunches are tender, remove them from the pot. Also remove the larger pieces of seasoning and then purée the remainder with a hand mixer. The vegetables in the sauce help to thicken it. Next pour the sauce through a sieve into a saucepan, reduce the sauce, season to taste with salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar and thicken with a little cornflour if required.

Bon appetit!