MY GRANDMA'S DINNER

I don't know what exactly came over me on Sunday, but I woke up determined to have an old fashion dinner, a dinner like my grandma used to make. Can I really do that? Cook a whole meal the old, traditional way, without any tweaking? I think I can. I had a rabbit defrosting in the refrigerator, so I decided to make a whole meal around it, a classic, traditional rabbit with molokheya and rice, just like the one we used to have growing up. I usually cook my rabbit the Italian way, or my way, but this time I decided to give in to my nostalgic feelings and cook exactly like my grandma. I have to tell you that I announced this decision at 1 o'clock after having a late breakfast and reading the Sunday papers, so everybody tried to convince me that I should make something else, "you don't have enough time", my mom said. So I said, "we'll see, if things get difficult, I'll whip up something else for today and continue with the rabbit tomorrow". Well, it turned out I was right: it's not that difficult and it doesn't take the time people want you to think it does. Maybe this was a trick from our mothers and grandmothers to convince us that they were doing a very difficult job? Or maybe they simply didn't want us to ask for it so often; or, and this is my theory, grandma didn't have the tools that we have today and this is why it took so long for her to prepare this meal.

For the molokheya, I couldn't resist, I had to make it my way, the easy way (November,8,2011 blog).

Rice, you know by now how to cook it; just make sure that you use the rabbit stock instead of water.

                                                

CLASSIC RABBIT RECIPE

To have this meal, you have to start with the rabbit. You should cook it first, and then cook the rice and the molokheya, because the rabbit stock will be the base of the other two dishes. You may have read in previous blogs that I cook the rabbit in a very simplified way, and never go through the whole process like grandma. But today is different, simply because I wanted to know if it really makes a difference. To be sure I asked my friend Batta, who usually follows all old instructions to the letter, and I consider her the keeper of traditional recipes. She confirmed what I remembered being the old recipe. So here we go. You'll need:

1 whole rabbit cut into six pieces 

2 to 3 mastic crystals (found at Middle Eastern grocery stores)

1 tsp ground cardamom

1 small onion

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp flour

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp butter

Rinse the rabbit pieces and pat dry. Put the rabbit pieces in a large bowl, sprinkle them with the flour, cardamom, salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Transfer the rabbit to a pot, preferable large enough to have the pieces in one layer. Add the mastic crystals and the oil and start cooking on medium high heat. Turn the pieces once and cook them until their flesh becomes white, don't overcook them or brown them. Add water to the pot and bring to a boil. Remove the white foam that might appear on the surface of the boiling pot whit a large spoon, once or twice. Add the onion, reduce the heat and continue cooking keeping the lid ajar on the pot. When the onion is almost cooked and tender, you may start taking some of the stock to make the molokheya and the rice. Continue cooking the rabbit, adding more water to compensate for the stock you used in the other dishes, and until the rabbit is fork tender. Remove the rabbit pieces and let them stand until ready to serve. Melt the butter in a non stick skillet, add the rabbit pieces and cover. Cook undisturbed for 3 or 4 minutes on one side, then turn the pieces on the other side and cover. When the rabbit pieces are golden brown, transfer to a serving dish and repeat with the remaining pieces. Serve with rice and molokheya.