Rabbit In Mustard Sauce - cooking recipe

Ingredients

rabbit
1 5/8 kg rabbit, pieces (with bones, 3lbs 9oz)
salt
pepper, freshly ground
2 tablespoons mild mustard
olive oil
mustard sauce
4 medium onions, roughly chopped
6 slices bacon, thin slices, sliced into 3 cm pieces (1 1/5 inch pieces)
4 tablespoons flour
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 cup single cream (if the single cream in your country works well in sauces, otherwise use cream)
3 -4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
thyme (to garnish)

Preparation

As indicated in the introduction I have doubled the sauce of the original recipe. You may therefore halve it if you are not as partial to sauce as I am.
Preheat oven 180\u00b0C / 355\u00b0F / gas 2.
Remove any visible fat from the rabbit meat. Rinse rabbit meat under cold water and drain well with kitchen paper.
Brush pieces with mustard, but do not use too much of it, as it otherwise will burn during the frying process. Generously salt and pepper the meat.
Fry the meat pieces in portions in hot olive oil in an oven-safe pot until they have a nice colour. Use more oil if necessary. Put browned meat aside.
Fry onions and bacon in the pot you fried the rabbit for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with flour and stir. Add wine and stock and bring to a boil while you keep stirring. Add meat and thyme leaves.
Cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 75-90 minutes or until tender. Remove pot from oven and put on stove. Add cream and 3 tablespoons of Dijon mustard. Mix and check if you want to add another tablespoon. Season to taste. Cook for a few minutes on the stove until the sauce is creamy.
Serve on individual plates with mashed potatoes and vegetable of your choice. Garnish meat with thyme sprigs or thyme leaves.