Nonna Emilia’s Rabbit
My grandmother made the best rabbit, which was dispatched, prepared and cooked the same
day. Rabbit has gone out of fashion in the UK, yet they have excellent flavour, with very little fat,
and are abundant.
This reminds me of something that happened the other day. I was watching Saturday
morning TV with my little boy. On ITV people were pouring custard over each other –
immensely funny, of course. I switched over to RAI and there was a cooking programme on,
La Prova del Cuoco, for eight- to twelve-year-olds with lots of dancing and singing (songs
about vegetables). The chef was making pasta with fresh squid and courgettes. He gave clear
instructions to the children on how to clean the squid, and when the dish was finished he told
them which wines would suit it best. The next dish was rabbit and the ingredients were ‘fresh’.
Again, the children were shown exactly how to prepare the rabbit and, at the end of the show,
they all enjoyed the meal. A true demonstration of the Italian high regard and respect for what food is.
This is another recipe that is very simple and requires no tricks, just a good-quality fresh
rabbit, not one that has been hung. Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 kg fresh rabbit
4 tablespoons flour
100 ml olive oil
a sprig of rosemary
1 glass white wine
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cut the rabbit up into pieces using a chopper or heavy knife, hitting the back of your knife
with your palm to cut through any thicker bones. Once you have portioned your rabbit, put it into
seasoned flour. It won’t coat the rabbit completely, but is enough to colour it well and make a good sauce.
Next, pour the oil into the pan and heat until it sizzles when you put the rosemary in. When
it does, add the rabbit portions, being careful not to overcrowd the pan, and fry the rabbit until
golden brown on both sides, which will take about 20 minutes over a medium heat.
Finally, add the white wine and reduce it slightly. You can remove the rabbit at this stage but
I don’t, as the wine cooks into the rabbit and flavours it even more. If leaving the rabbit in the
pan don’t turn it over when you add the wine, as one side will soften and the other will remain crisp.
Serve with mashed potatoes and white wine.
*taken from the book ‘From Seed to plate’ by Paolo Arrigo, published by Simon and Schuster