IT'S A LITTLE BIT BUNNY

Elizabeth Luard is, to my mind, the greatest food writer in the UK. I am fortunate that we have published a number of books with her

Recently, Fergus Henderson ( he of St John fame ) was quoted in The New Yorker as saying that one of the titles we commissioned from her, SACRED FOOD, was the book which informed much of his cooking. You don't get much higher recommendation that that.

Yesterday, we received advances of her new book, CLASSIC SPANISH COOKING. Part of a series, that includes titles on French and Italian cuisine and will soon include Jewish and British. It is growing into a useful resource.

Flipping through the pages with a production hat on, I came across a recipe called Pollo en Ajopollo ( chicken in an almond and saffron sauce ) a moorish dish from Andalucia.

It struck me that it might well work with the rabbit I saw on sale in James Elliot.

So, after picking up one of the poor blighters today at lunchtime, I cooked up a CONEJO EN AJOPOLLO ( I think !) for supper

A slice of bread is fried with garlic and a little parsley and whizzed to breadcrumbs. Then I added saffron threads and their infusing water, cinnamon, lemon juice and zest, cloves, a glass of white wine and two tablespoons of ground almonds and whizzed to a smooth pureee.

I fried the rabbit ( dusted in seasoned flour ) in olive oil until golden, added sliced onion and cooked until that was soft. Then the nut puree is added and the whole lot is simmered until the rabbit is falling off the bone and the sauce is reduced to a thick unctuousness. An optional extra is to sprinkle with more parsley and some toasted flaked almonds before serving, but I did not bother.

The end result is redolent ( as HP commented ) of a Korma which is the Moorish influence, I guess. Whatever its provenance, it is entirely delicious and I heartily recommend it

Served with some buttered purple sprouting brocoli and some slow roasted tomatoes, this is certainly a dish I can see myself returning to time and again.

At the risk of shilling one of my own books. BUY THIS BOOK. Or, be nice to me and I may send you one!