1lbcommon green top carrotsor another flavorful variety, washed and peeled, with the top tender ½in portion of the leaves attached
2qts whole milk
3ozdried black trumpets
1qtstronghomemade meat stock, like rabbit or chicken, plus a little extra for cooking the carrots
Bouquet garniwrap these in cheesecloth and tie closed 5 sprigs of thyme, 10 black peppercorns, 1 bay leaf, and a clove of garlic
¼cupshallotsdiced ¼ in
2tablespoonsunsalted butter
Cooking oillike grapeseed, or animal fat, like duck fat-a few tablespoons
Kosher salt and pepper
½cupdry white wine
All purpose flouras needed for dredging the rabbit, a gluten-free flour would be fine too
Fresh cut chivesto taste
Instructions
Mushrooms
Rehydrate the dried trumpets in the meat stock for 20 minutes, then agitate to remove dirt, remove them from the stock, then strain the stock and reserve and reserve the two separately. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Rabbit
Heat a few tablespoons in of oil in a 6 in high roasting pan or wide brazier, season the rabbit all over with salt and pepper, then dredge in the flour and tap off the excess thoroughly.
Brown the rabbit legs, making sure not to overcrowd the pan, then add the shallots, black trumpets, 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine to the pan and de-glaze, then add the milk, bouquet garni, and remaining stock to the pan, or until the rabbit legs are barely floating in liquid.
Cover the pan and place into a 300 degree oven. Cook the rabbit legs until they're just soft and fork-tender, about 1.5 hours depending on size. With a slotted spoon, remove the rabbit from the braise and cool. Transfer the liquid to a brazing pan and reduce, whisking occasionally, until the curds thicken and only about 2 cups remain.
Transfer the broken liquid to a blender, then puree and transfer to a saucepan, season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper and reserve until needed. The rabbit can be made ahead of time and reheated, in fact, it's better the next day.
Carrots
Heat a tablespoon of fat in a wide saute pan until hot, then add the carrots and season with salt and pepper. Place the pan in a preheated 375 degree oven and cook until just tender, about 10 minutes. Before you plate them, add a little knob of butter and toss to coat.
Plating the dish
Reheat the rabbit legs in the pureed trumpet sauce, double check the seasoning of the sauce, and make sure it's at least thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, if not more. The sauce can also be thickened by whisking in cold unsalted butter and heating.
Put the carrots down on preheated dinner plates, top each pile of carrots with two rabbit legs, crossing the bones at 12 o'clock, nap with additional sauce, garnish with the chives and serve immediately.
Notes
Either the front or back legs rabbit legs can be used here.