Rabbit in Almond Sauce

"Why don't you try rabbit in almond sauce?" asks Lucia, a good friend of mine from Spain after I told her I had a rabbit in the fridge and no recipe. See, every time I find myself in this situation,  I tend to cook the classic stew. Nothing wrong with that but I like to try different things every time I can and my friend's suggestion sounded very interesting. 

She gave me the recipe (her mom's) and I started cooking right away. I had no intentions to post this rabbit recipe but it was SO good I just had to.

What a wonderful change from the ordinary. I thank Lucia for letting me share with you this delicious recipe. Who knows, it might become one of your favorites too.

Ingredients:

1- 2 lb. rabbit, cut into portions

olive oil

1 medium onion

6 garlic cloves

2 tbsp flour

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1 cup wine

2 cups water

3/4 cup ground almonds

2 sprigs of thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a large Dutch oven. Add the rabbit, season with salt and pepper and sear over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until browned. Remove the rabbit to a large plate. Add the onions to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Sprinkle with flour, stir and cook for 2 minutes more. Add wine, tomato sauce, water, thyme, almonds and return the rabbit to the pot. Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook on medium heat for 45 minutes stirring occasionally. Add water to thin the sauce if it gets too thick.