Whether you're after a rustic starter or a sharing plate, this stewed rabbit dish is a great shout. Rabbit is used throughout Italy, often braised with olives, but here it's kept simple with just a little wine, lard and tomatoes.
Make The Silver Spoon's Ischitana-style rabbit
Equally brilliant as a starter or sharing plate, the rabbit really shines through in this simple dish that uses offal and fresh herbs to add extra layers of flavour
Serves 6
Preparation time 20 mins
Cooking time 60 mins
Ingredients
- 1.5kg rabbit pieces (liver and other offal kept separate)
- 250 ml dry white wine
- 120ml olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- Handful of very large basil leaves
- 2 tbsp lard
- 15 cherry tomatoes, quartered
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh herbs, for garnish
Method
- Add the rabbit pieces to a bowl, cover with the wine and set aside to marinate for about two hours. Drain and reserve the marinade.
- Heat the oil in a deep sauté pan, add the garlic and brown. Remove and discard the garlic.
- Add the rabbit and brown each piece on all sides. Drizzle with 150ml of the marinade and cook until the liquid has evaporated.
- Wrap the pieces of liver and offal in the basil leaves to form small rolls and place in the pan with the rabbit pieces.
- Add the lard and tomatoes to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook over a medium heat for about 40 minutes, adding hot water if the pan gets too dry.
- Adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Serve on a platter. Garnish with aromatic herbs, such as basil, sage, rosemary, or wild fennel.
Naples and the Amalfi Coast from The Silver Spoon; photography Simon Bajada. Phaidon, £24.95. uk.phaidon.com.
