Paleo Rabbit Cacciatore and Meatballs over Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Serve Paleo Rabbit Cacciatore with Meatballs over Mashed Sweet Potatoes for a delicious Paleo dinner. by Marla Sarris, updated April 10, 2015 Posted on January 2, 2014

Paleo Rabbit Cacciatore

Marla Sarris is the founder of Paleo Porn, co-author of Pigskin Paleo (along with her husband Jeff), and project manager at SPYR. After tirelessly dedicating six years to teaching Mathematics at one of the top High Schools in the nation, she left her all-consuming career in pursuit of a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. She continues to indulge her passion for teaching through Paleo Porn.

On the last night Dave was here…a long long time ago, in the year of 2013 and month of November, I made a special meal to celebrate his birthday.

Of course I had no candles in the house so we had Dave blow out a match that I held in my hand above his plate of Paleo Rabbit Cacciatore and Meatballs with Mashed Sweet Potatoes. Keepin’ it classy. ;)

It took a little bit of research to figure out what to do with the rabbit but it was totally worth the time. You see, I had never cooked rabbit before this meal but thanks to the help of the interwebs I found this fantastic reference and it was clear sailing from there.

Once I knew how to cut up a rabbit then I decided I wanted to cook it in tomato sauce.

Then I looked at what else I had and decided that mashed sweet potatoes and meatballs would make the Paleo Rabbit Cacciatore a complete meal.

Typically I would share the recipe for just Paleo Rabbit Cacciatore but I decided this time to share how I prepared this entire meal.

While I was in the middle of cooking, Jeff’s parents stopped by to say Happy Birthday to Dave. When Jeff’s mom asked what I was making, I felt bad saying rabbit because not only is she an animal lover and a vegetarian, she also has two pet bunnies at home.

If you’ve never tried rabbit, I wouldn’t be surprised. It’s not really an every day dish. It’s similar in flavor to chicken but the bones are quite petite and delicate to handle.

Broaden your horizons with a little rabbit on your plate. Look in the freezer section of your grocery store, seek out a farm near you or order online. This here wascally wabbit came from U.S. Wellness Meats. :)

Paleo Rabbit Cacciatore and Meatballs over Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Yield: 2-3 Servings

Ingredients

1 rabbit, fresh or frozen and thawed
2-3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for pork
coarse ground sea salt, to taste
coarse ground black pepper, to taste
1 head garlic, cloves minced
1 large onion, chopped
3 cups chopped tomatoes
1 cup water
1/3 cup dry white wine
1lb ground pork
garlic powder, to taste
onion powder, to taste
3 tablespoons fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons fresh thyme
3.5oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced

Directions

Cut rabbit into pieces. (Here's a good reference for how to do this.)
Add sweet potatoes to a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until potatoes are fork tender.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
Season rabbit pieces with sea salt and black pepper on all sides. Add the rabbit to the pot and brown on all sides. Transfer browned pieces to a clean plate.
Add garlic and onions to the pot and reduce heat to medium. Sauté for 1-2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, water and wine and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to lift any brown bits that are stuck. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.
Check sweet potato for doneness. Remove from heat, drain and keep covered.
Add rabbit pieces back to pot, stir to combine, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes.
Roll ground pork into small meatballs using the palms of your hands. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add all meatballs to the skillet and season with sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Cover and cook. Stir once after 5 minutes then cover and cook, reduce heat to medium-low if necessary.
Transfer rabbit pieces to a new clean plate.
Add fresh rosemary, fresh thyme and shiitake mushrooms to the pot, stir to combine. Simmer until slightly reduced, for 5 minutes.
Add the rabbit and meatballs into the pot and simmer until heated through, 3-5 minutes.
Using a potato masher, mash the sweet potatoes in the pan they were cooked in.
Remove the rabbit pot from heat and prepare to serve. Add a scoop of sweet potatoes to a plate, top with a piece of rabbit, 3-5 meatballs and some sauce and serve with a side salad.
Enjoy! :)

About the Author Marla Sarris

Marla Sarris is the founder of Paleo Porn, co-author of Pigskin Paleo (along with her husband Jeff), and project manager at SPYR. After tirelessly dedicating six years to teaching Mathematics at one of the top High Schools in the nation, she left her all-consuming career in pursuit of a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. She continues to indulge her passion for teaching through Paleo Porn.