- 1 coconut
- 6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter
- 1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
- One 3 pound rabbit, cut into 8 pieces
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Find the “eye” of the coconut, the opposite end from the tapered one. Place a screwdriver over it and hammer it through to make a hole. Drain the milk from the coconut and set aside. You should have about ½ cup, or a little less. Place the coconut in a roasting pan and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and tap the shell with a hammer. It should break easily and the flesh should separate from the shell. Scrape or peel off the brown skin with a vegetable peeler. Cut the coconut flesh into 1-inch pieces and place in a blender with the coconut milk and as much water as necessary to get the blender blade to twirl. Blend at high speed for 1 minute. Transfer the coconut to a food mill.
- In an enameled cast iron casserole, melt the coconut through the food mill into the casserole. Bring the coconut puree to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until a bit denser, 10 to 15 minutes. Put the tomatoes, garlic, and onion in the blender and blend for 1 minute. Stir into the coconut sauce, season with salt and pepper, and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the rabbit pieces to the casserole and stew over low heat until the rabbit is tender, basting the rabbit with the sauce, about 2 hours. Serve from the casserole.