One of my Sicilian aunt’s favourite ways to cook rabbit in Ragusa was Cunnighiu a Pattuisa (cunnighiu is coniglio in Italian, rabbit in English). I did some research and found that two other Sicilian food writers call it something different: Giuseppe Coria calls it Cunnighiu a Portisa, and Pino Correnti Cunnighiu a Portuisa. In Italian this becomes, alla Portoghese, that is in the Portuguese style.
I am not quite sure why the Portuguese are accredited for this recipe, but one can assume that it is because of the Spaniards in Sicily.
Sicily was ruled by Spaniards at various times by: House of Aragon (1282–1516), Kingdom of Spain (1516–1713), Duchy of Savoy (1713–1720), Habsburg Monarchy (1720–1735) and Kingdom of Naples (1735–1806).
Located on the southwestern tip of the European continent in the Iberian Peninsula are Spain, Andorra and Portugal and Portugal only gained independence from Spain in 1640. Olive oil, olives and capers are used extensively in Sicilian and Spanish cooking.
There are various versions of this recipe for rabbit cooked in the Portuguese style as cooked in Ragusa and most seem to contain green olives and capers. Some contain vinegar, others white wine. Some recipes suggest adding a spoonful of tomato paste (mainly to enrich the colour), some add a little sugar, others chilli.
I cooked a version of this rabbit for friends in Adelaide, the photos tell the story.
In a fry pan I browned 1 rabbit in about ½ cup extra virgin oil. I sectioned the rabbit into 5 pieces (number of pieces is optional).
I then added some salt and pepper, some green olives and capers, 2-4 cloves garlic and some fresh thyme. Sicilians would use a few fresh bay leaves. If you are using salted capers make sure to rinse them and soak them in several changes of fresh water.
I then added about 1 glass of white wine mixed with ½ cup of white wine vinegar. I covered it with a lid and cooked it slowly on low heat.
*If it is a tender rabbit and if it is cut into small enough pieces, the rabbit may be cooked by the time all of the liquid has evaporated. If the rabbit is not as young or as tender as you had hoped, and you feel that it needs to be cooked for longer add a little water, cover with a lid and simmer it gently until it is soft – keep on adding more wine and water.
I partly cooked some potatoes and placed them with the rabbit for the last 20-30 minutes of cooking. The green leaves are mint. These add colour and taste: Ragusani use quite a bit of mint in their cooking.
One way to cook Rabbit like a Sicilian
POLLO OR GALLINA ALLA CONTADINA, ALLA PAESANA. Braised Chicken or rabbit with Olives, Sicilian style
RABBIT with cloves, cinnamon and red wine (CONIGLIO DA LICODIA EUBEA)
CONIGLIO A PARTUISA (Braised rabbit as cooked in Ragusa)
POLLO AL GUAZZETTO (Sardinian Chicken or rabbit braised with Saffron)
Very interesting post, as always! I believe I did have rabbit when I was very young — I believe mamma made alla cacciatore. This recipe sounds delicious – I think the addition of mint is very interesting with the recipe. Usually mint is with veggies but not meat. I bet it does give it another level of flavor that is very good. BTW, how are you? Are you still traveling quite a bit? Un abbraccio!
Yes, “alla cacciatora” is a popular way to cook chicken or rabbit…hunter style? Apart from mushrooms, hunters must have had onion, herbs and a few ripe tomatoes on hand.
Yes, I still do travel and this year I will be in Italy for part of the time including northern Italy – Venice, Trieste, The Dolomites and a few other places in the North. And un abbraccio to you as well Marisa.
My maternal grandmother, Angelina Donzella came to NY in 1912 from Ragusa, & she substituted chicken for rabbit & called ie “Iaddina a partuisa”. She used vinegar instead of wine, & added chopped garlic & celery in addition to all other ingredients mentioned here, I still make it frequently.
Isn’t the Sicilian language wonderful!
Iaddina.