I Always Choose the Rabbit

Rabbit Cacciatore

I knew on the first day of my food tour in Puglia that it was a good group. When we were at the butchers choosing what we wanted to cook that day for lunch our guide suggested Chicken Cacciatore. But, I saw the rabbit in the case and asked if we can do that instead and everyone enthusiastically said yes.

From that point onwards, I knew that this was a group of people who loved food as much as I do. Rabbit is a common protein down in southern Italy and this is a traditional way to eat it from all around this region. I also find it like this in the Campania region. It’s so flavorful and easy and unlike when I have made this previously, down in Puglia they don’t brown it first. My food tour of Puglia with Via Rosa Italy is down to our final day and I can’t believe what we have packed into one week.

This region really is a food lover’s dream. People here are so kind and I feel like it’s still somewhat off the beaten path. There are no crazy crowds like there are in some of the other places and people here are friendly, curious and truly lovely. For those that can’t stomach rabbit, you can replace it with chicken. Also, most rabbit in the states comes frozen. If you aren’t familiar with butchering a rabbit or just can’t bring yourself to do so, ask your butcher to do it. I learned how from watching Youtube videos years ago, which also works.

Rabbit Cacciatore

Serves 4-6

1 whole rabbit - broken down into front legs, thighs, drumstick, flaps and saddle cut into at least 2 pieces (save the rest for rabbit stock)

1 medium yellow onion - sliced

1 1/2 rosemary stems - leaves taken off but left whole

4 fresh bay leaves - or 2 dried

1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes - cut into quarters

1/3 good drizzling olive oil

1/3 cup dry white wine

1-1.5 teaspoons of Maldon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Method:

One of the things I love about cooking in Puglia is that they only use good drizzling olive oil. This means that they don’t cook anything on a very high heat as not to ruin the flavor of the oil. This was the second dish we learned where you simply throw almost everything in a pot and be done with it. When I have made this dish in the past there were multiple cooking steps like browning the rabbit. The Pugliese do no such thing.

In a large lidded pan, add the olive oil and then the onion, rosemary, bay leaves, rabbit and cherry tomatoes. Now add the black pepper but not the salt. I noticed here the meat is salted toward the end of the cooking and not at the beginning.

Starting from the cold pan, you bring it to a medium heat and let it start cooking for about 15 minutes. Give it a mix every now and then. Then add in the white wine, cook for 5 minutes until it’s largely gone and now add the salt. Give it a stir and then cover slightly. The lid should be on but not all the way so that steam can escape. Cook slightly covered for another 15 minutes or so stirring it every 5 minutes. At this point the rabbit will be cooked. It’s not fall off the bone, slow cooked but more like roast chicken cooked. You can now further break down the saddles by cutting them in half.

Remove the rabbit and cover to keep warm. In the pan, cook the sauce for another 5 minutes or until the juices are reduced and the tomatoes go jammy. The sauce will be a rich deep red hue and wonderfully savory. Once the sauce is reduced, add the rabbit back in. Coat the pieces in the sauce and it’s ready to serve.

This was insanely good and so simple to make. I love this no browning method and it will be my go to going forward.

Enjoy!

xx Corre