Spanish rabbit and chickpea stew

Recipe By: Azmina Govindji

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serves: 4
yield: 4 servings
ready in: 1 hour 50 mins (20 mins Prep - 1 hour 30 mins Cook)

In Spain, the home of this spicy dish, chickpeas are very popular and are often stewed with a small amount of meat and a vegetable or two to make hearty one-pot feasts. Serve this with chunks of rustic sourdough bread on the side, so that you can dip it in to enjoy every drop of the delicious gravy.

Recipe provided by:

Readers Digest | DIABETES Cookbook

ingredients

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
340 g (12 oz) boneless rabbit, cut into large chunks
2 onions, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large red pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
1 tbsp paprika, preferably smoked
½ tsp mild chilli powder
½ tsp ground cumin
large pinch of ground cinnamon
2 bay leaves
250 ml (8 ½ fl oz) dry white wine
250 ml (8 ½ fl oz) chicken stock
1 can chopped tomatoes, about 225 g
2 tbsp tomato purée
3 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 pinches of saffron threads
4 tbsp hot water
1 can chickpeas, about 400 g, drained and rinsed
225 g (8 oz) new potatoes, scrubbed and halved
2 sprigs of fresh oregano or marjoram, leaves coarsely chopped
grated zest and juice of 1 small orange, preferably a blood orange
salt and pepper

preparation method

Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole, add the chunks of rabbit and sauté until browned on all sides. Add the onions, garlic and red pepper and fry, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until the onions have softened. Add the paprika, chilli powder, cumin, cinnamon and bay leaves, stir well and fry for 1 minute.
Add the wine, stock, tomatoes with their juice, tomato purée and half of the parsley. Cover and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to very low and simmer for about 40 minutes or until the rabbit is very tender. Meanwhile, crumble the saffron into a small bowl and add the hot water. Stir, then leave to soak for 15–20 minutes.
Add the chickpeas and potatoes to the stew, together with the saffron and its soaking water, the oregano or marjoram, and orange zest and juice. Stir, then simmer for 25–30 minutes or until the gravy has thickened and is not too soupy. Taste and add seasoning if needed, and remove the bay leaves if you prefer. Serve hot, sprinkled with the remaining parsley.

Another idea

Instead of rabbit, use lean pork fillet (tenderloin) or lamb fillet or boneless leg, trimmed of fat and cut into bite-sized chunks.

Plus points

Chickpeas are an important source of vegetable protein in many parts of the world, and they are a good source of soluble dietary fibre. In this recipe the chickpeas provide a greater amount of iron per portion than the rabbit (1.5 mg compared with 0.9 mg). The absorption of the iron is helped by the generous amounts of vitamin C provided by the vegetables, in particular red pepper. * Rabbit is an excellent low-fat source of protein. It can be substituted for chicken breast in many recipes because its pale-coloured meat looks and tastes quite similar. Nutritionally, it contains twice as much iron as chicken breast.

Each serving provides

Excellent source of niacin, vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin E. Good source of folate, iron, selenium, vitamin B2, zinc.