Rabbit and Mushroom Fricassée

When I’m taking notes in class I often write little side notes to myself. Usually in reference to a book or an article or an author that I need to look up. Sometimes I write notes about thoughts on research I’m doing, or something strange the professor said. I’m not much of a doodler and if I do doodle, it means the class must be incredibly boring.

There’s no chance of that here, as I’m too busy trying to keep up with French to get bored. And quite frankly, the more I learn about cuisine, gastronomy and wine, the more fascinating the subject gets.

New notes to myself have show up in the margins of my notebook however. They include things like “braise something this weekend,” “buy a sweet white wine,” and “make a fricassée.”

The latter note came from my Wine Pairings class on Wednesday evening, when discussing structured white wines. A fricassée uses white wine in the recipe and thus, a good white wine is necessary during the meal.

I’d never had a fricassée before and I only kind of knew what one was. The main ingredient is usually chicken, some sort of game bird, or rabbit. Autumn vegetables, especially mushrooms and shallots are cooked with the meat in a sauce of chicken bouillon and wine. Cream is added at the very end, cooked at a simmer for a few minutes more for a tangy, rich – yet light – sauce.

Side note: The art of the sauce is way more complex than I ever thought possible. Sauces themselves are pretty simple, but if you don’t respect your sauce, the whole plate can fall apart.

The service of this dish is as important as the ingredients. On the plate place your meat,  vegetables, and a nice layer for sauce poured on top. Nappez le viande they say in French: “top the meat with the sauce,” but the sound of nappez reminds me of wrapping yourself in a soft blanket and shows just how much respect you should be putting in your plate and your sauce.

Needless to say, this weekend I made my own fricassée with rabbit, mushrooms, carrots, and parsnips. The result?

Awesome sauce. (see what I did there?)

In all honesty, it was excellent. A cream sauce does not have to be heavy or thick. And the trick is to add the cream at the very end of cooking and let it thicken for a few minutes. If you want a thicker sauce all that’s needed is teaspoon of cornstarch.

Fricassée is a pretty easy recipe, but to ensure the flavors come together, the meat is tender and well-seasoned, it does require a long cooking time. This is not a dish you can throw together. But it’s well worth the wait. Nothing needs to be added; except maybe a thick piece of fresh baguette to soak up the remaining sauce on the plate.

It’s an autumn dish. Something you eat on a rainy, cold day in your pajamas with a glass of white wine and a good movie. The type of comfort food you think you only deserve on special occasions. The rabbit, carrots, mushrooms, and parsnips, together with a generous serving of herbs de Provence give this dish a “harvest appeal”, wild and woodsy appeal. Country home appeal.

I’m a city girl, but we all need a little bit of paysage on these cold autumn days.