Roast Rabbit with Garlic and Green Asparagus
·Prepare the rabbit
Wash and pat the rabbit dry, then season with salt and pepper. Place it in a roasting dish and sprinkle lightly with fresh or dried thyme. Lay slices of butter on top. Arrange whole heads of garlic around the rabbit, just removing the outer papery skin. Pour in a cup of water.
Roast
Cover the roasting dish with a lid and roast in an oven preheated to 150 °C until tender. Once the meat is tender, remove the lid, raise the temperature to 200 °C and roast for a few more minutes until the surface turns crisp. While the rabbit is roasting, cook the pearl barley in water until tender.
Fry the asparagus
Take a large, deep frying pan and sauté the finely chopped shallot in a little butter. Cut the green asparagus in half. Chop the firmer bottom halves into small pieces and add them to the pan with the shallot. Fry together for about five minutes.
Add the barley and cream
Add the cooked pearl barley, stir well and season to taste with salt and pepper. Finally, stir in the cream to give the whole side dish a lovely smooth, creamy finish.
Warm the asparagus with the rabbit
Place the top halves of the asparagus in the roasting dish with the rabbit for just a few minutes to warm through. Green asparagus is delicious even raw, so give it only the briefest heat.
Serving
Serve immediately: the pearl barley alongside the rabbit, finished with the lightly warmed asparagus and the whole roasted garlic. Squeeze the garlic out of its skin right at the table.