Rabbit pie and sauerkraut

- but not on the same plate!!
I was lucky enough to get a couple or rabbits given at the weekend, and both went into pies, one left for the freezer. After skinning, I simmer the rabbits whole in cider and water until just tender. Cool, then remove the flesh and chop into chunks. meanwhile, fry an onion in some butter until softened, then add flour for thickening; amke sauce up with cider and stock, dash of white wine, mustard, black pepper. Add cooked meat, simmer a few minutes, then into pie dish and top with buttery pastry; bake in a hot oven until golden brown. We had ours with mash and cabbage. Simple food, but very good, just right for late summer/early autumn. To stretch the meat further, you could add more vegetables - carrots, mushrooms, leftover veg in the fridge, etc, and ring the changes by using a mash topping instead of pastry, or a savoury crumble mix.

The two skins are in a bucket of alum and brine starting the curing process now. My other projects yesterday were picallili and sauerkraut. I make picallili every year, but it's the first time I've tried sauerkraut, so interested to see how that goes - I've never tasted it either, so looking forward to trying it. One monster cabbage down, one to go................
The pictures show the pie ready for the freezer and the sauerkraut underway.