Tag: Braised Sicilian Rabbit

WAYS TO COOK RABBIT – with chocolate sauce

 I cooked rabbit in a chocolate sauce and somehow, it seemed appropriate for Easter.  Easter has passed, but rabbit or hare cooked with chocolate can be enjoyed at anytime. 

Religious Easter celebrations in Sicily go back to pagan times – the continuation of ancient rites and traditions.

Easter in Sicily is also a celebration of spring, a time for revival and new beginnings, casting away winter with particular attention to spring produce. Therefore I was not surprised when one of my favourite cousins who lives in Ragusa in Sicily told me that during the Easter lunch they ate: …  le classiche impanate di agnello,  le scacce,  la frittata di carciofo e il risotto agli asparagi.

And, as he also told me: tutto molto buono – it was all good.  For those of you who do not understand menu Italian, these particular Sicilian relatives ate two traditional Easter specialties from Ragusa –  the lamb impanate and scacce, accompanied by an artichoke frittata and an asparagus risotto … the produce is a celebration of spring.

The impanate are focaccia like pies  stuffed with lamb – spring lamb of course. 

The scacce are pastries made with a variety of fillings. The pastry is folded like in a concertina over the filling and my favourite are those that contain sheep’s milk ricotta:  the milk is at its best in spring, after the rich winter pastures. 

But probably, my favourite would have been the frittata made with young artichokes. In Australia it is often difficult to purchase young artichokes unless you grow  them yourself. Sometimes young spring asparagus (also wild asparagus) is cooked  as a frittata, but on this occasion the asparagus went into a risotto.

 He did not mention the sweets, but there would have been cassatedde half-moon shaped pockets of pastry stuffed with ricotta and/or cassata or cannoli, all made with sheep’s milk ricotta. 

I know many of you may  disagree, but for me traditional hot cross buns do not appear to be as appetising as what my Sicilians relatives ate for Easter (see below for the full descriptions and recipes).

Rabbit with Chocolate sauce

Rabbit with chocolate sauce is a Sicilian recipe, probably introduced by the Spaniards who ruled Sicily from 1282 to 1516: the Aragonese and from 1516 – 1713: the Spanish Habsburgs.

Rabbit in chocolate sauce is not traditionally cooked at Easter but in Australia it seemed appropriate.

You  begin with a rabbit(s).

As you can see, the rabbits have been cut into sections – legs and backs. I kept the front legs for another time.

The rabbit pieces have been in a marinade that is mainly a mixture of  extra virgin olive oil, chopped celery leaves,  some fennel seeds, a few cloves,  fresh bay leaves (I like bay) and 1 small chopped onion. In the past on some occasions I have also added cinnamon bark.  I left the meat in the marinade for about 3 hours, however overnight is OK too and judging by the time the rabbits took to cook they could have done with a longer time in the marinade.

You will also need more carrots and onions and celery to add to the rabbit when you cook it.

During cooking, you will  also add good quality dark chocolate, pine nuts, currants, stock, wine, a little sugar and some vinegar.  The rabbit is cooked the same way as if cooked in a sour and sweet sauce but with chocolate to enrich the sauce.

The rabbit needs browning … drain the meat from the marinade and leave as much as the solids behind … don’t crowd the pan.

The rabbit browned quite quickly.

Remove the pieces of rabbit from the pan.

Have ready some chopped celery , carrots and onions.  

Next, make a soffritto –  the aromatic base composed of sautéed carrots, celery, and onion that forms the foundation to many Italian dishes. Sauté the vegetables in some more oil.

Remove the vegetables, add about a dessert spoon of sugar to the frypan and wait for it to melt.

Traditionally only vinegar is added to the sweet and sour rabbit dish, but I also like to add wine; for my quantity of rabbit, I added about a half a cup of white wine and about a tablespoon of white wine vinegar and I also added about a half a cup of red wine that somehow seemed more appropriate with the brown colouring of the dish.

Return all of the meat and vegetables to the pan.  Add currants and pine nuts, broth/stock to cover, salt and some chocolate. I added  half a block and the rest of the chocolate at the very end to enrich the sauce. Taste it, and  depending on how much you like the taste of chocolate, add more if you wish.

Cover and cook  it slowly till the rabbit is cooked. If it is a farmed rabbit  it will take as long as cooking chicken, mine was wild rabbit and it took about three hours of slow cooking.

i served it with sweet and sour pumpkin (fegato di sette cannolli) and pears quickly fried in a little oil and butter.

For a more complete recipe see:

RABBIT, CHICKEN, Easter recipes

Sicilian Pumpkin with vinegar, mint, sugar and cinnamon
RABBIT AND HARE:

HARE OR RABBIT COOKED IN CHOCOLATE. LEPRE O CONIGLIO AL CIOCCOLATO (‘NCICULATTATU IS THE SICILIAN TERM USED)

RABBIT with cloves, cinnamon and red wine (CONIGLIO DA LICODIA EUBEA)

ONE WAY TO COOK RABBIT LIKE A SICILIAN

CONIGLIO A PARTUISA (Braised rabbit as cooked in Ragusa)

PAPPARDELLE (PASTA WITH HARE OR GAME RAGÙ)

LEPRE ALLA PIEMONTESE (HARE – SLOW BRAISE PIEDMONTESE STYLE

EASTER SPECIALTIES IN RAGUSA

SCACCE and PIZZA and SICILIAN EASTER

‘MPANATA (A lamb pie, Easter treat)

I  have relatives  in Sicily but  my parents and I lived in Trieste in Northern Italy. Just for interest, here are  the traditional  Easter sweets of Trieste:
Traditional Easter Sweets in Trieste in Friuli Venezia Giulia

CONIGLIO A PARTUISA (Braised rabbit as cooked in Ragusa)

Coniglio a Partuisa is a traditional braised rabbit dish from the province of Ragusa in southeast Sicily, and it reflects the rich culinary heritage of the region. This corner of Sicily is rooted in both ancient farming traditions and strong religious identity, particularly devotion to San Giorgio, the patron saint of the city.

For centuries, agricultural life, community celebrations, and regional cuisine have been linked to the feast days of local saints, when families would gather to prepare elaborate dishes such as this flavourful rabbit braise.

Ragusa Ibla, San Giorgio Church in the background

This celebrates my cousin Corrado and his wife Barbara who live in Ragusa.

Ragusa Ibla

My relative Corrado lives in Ragusa and tells me that the festivities in Ragusa Ibla are already in full swing for the feast of San Giorgio – the celebration always takes place on the last Sunday in May, filling the old city with colour, music, and deeply rooted tradition.

Corrado and Barbara will be taking advantage of the warm weather and riding their Vespa down to Ibla this evening:
“Oggi qui a Ibla c’è la festa di San Giorgio, e questa sera scenderò a ibla con la mia vespa e con Barbara. La serata è calda è quasi estate…”

Sicilian traditions from Ragusa

Ragusa’s cuisine blends rural, monastic and feasting traditions. Rabbit has long been a common protein in Sicilian country cooking, and in Ragusa it is often prepared slowly, braised with wine, herbs, garlic and subtle aromatics to create a rich, comforting dish. The name Partuisa is believed to refer to this slow method of stewing the meat until tender, a style deeply rooted in peasant cooking and seasonal home-grown ingredients.

Feasts dedicated to San Giorgio are some of Ragusa’s most celebrated dates, when processions, fireworks and community meals fill the streets. While dishes vary from household to household, rabbit, lamb and other rustic foods have traditionally been central to these communal tables, symbolising nourishment, gratitude and the agricultural foundations of the region.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 rabbit, cut into small pieces
  • ½ cup green olives
  • ½ cup capers
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • A few sprigs of fresh mint leaves
  • 3 bay leaves

  • 1 glass red wine mixed with ½ cup red wine vinegar

  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Extra mint for garnish

PROCESS

  1. In a large frying pan, heat the extra virgin olive oil and sauté the rabbit pieces until golden.
  2. Add olives, capers, garlic, mint, bay leaves, salt and pepper.
  3. Lower the heat and begin adding the mixture of wine and vinegar gradually as the rabbit cooks.
  4. If the rabbit is young and tender and the pieces small, it may be cooked by the time the liquid has evaporated.
  5. If it needs longer (as is often the case), add a little water, cover, and simmer gently until tender – continuing to add wine and vinegar as required.
  7. Remove the lid and allow the juices to reduce and caramelise. The rabbit should be a deep golden brown.
  8. Garnish with fresh mint and serve hot.
  9. Decorate with fresh mint (for appearance and taste).

A humble and deeply Sicilian meal that perfectly reflects Ragusan tradition.

Memories of Zia Niluzza’s Kitchen

The photo of this dish was taken in Zia Niluzza’s kitchen on my last visit to Sicily.

Unfortunately the photo does not do the flavour justice – the taste is exceptional. As you can see, it is cooked in a heavy frying pan, which helps the juices evaporate and caramelise, coating the meat in rich flavour.

If using wild rabbit, it is often soaked in water and vinegar for at least an hour beforehand. This helps remove any strong flavour and also lightens the flesh.

I also like to add a handful of fresh mint just before serving, a final fragrant touch that enhances both flavour and appearance.

In the spirit of Ragusa, it is best enjoyed slowly, at a shared table.