Tag: cloves

One way to cook Rabbit like a Sicilian

One Sicilian method of cooking rabbit is to prepare it similarly to hare, marinating the meat and cooking it with strong flavours. This approach inspires timeless, flavour-rich country Sicilian cooking.

Although hare can be difficult to find, rabbit is more readily available and is a suitable substitute for the same traditional recipes.

I always begin by marinating the rabbit before cooking. The marination can be shorter than for hare, and the cooking time is also reduced especially when using farmed rabbit, which is more tender and less gamey.

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Marinaded fresh rabbit and aromatic spices ready for traditional Sicilian cooking

On my blog, you will find recipes for both rabbit and hare. In fact, most dishes designed for chicken can be easily adapted for rabbit with excellent results.

This particular rabbit dish was prepared with cloves, cinnamon and red wine, spices and aromas that are deeply rooted in Sicilian culinary history and a legacy of Arab influence on the island’s cuisine.

While cooking, I took more step-by-step photos than usual to capture the process and the unfolding colour and depth of the sauce.

Coniglio da Licodia Eubea—rustic Sicilian flavours
Complete meal, presented with roast potatoes and pumpkin and braised chicory

The food historian Pino Correnti, in his Il Libro D’oro della Cucina e dei Vini di Sicilia, attributes this recipe to Licodia Eubea and refers to it as Coniglio da Licodia Eubea.

I have driven through Licodia Eubea on my way from Piazza Armerina to Caltagirone and onward to Ragusa. I didn’t stop for photos there, but nearby Grammichele—with its remarkable hexagonal piazza and one of the world’s largest sundials—made an unforgettable impression. Like Licodia Eubea, the streets were almost empty, giving us the feeling that we had the whole town to ourselves.

For the completer recipe:

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

Other Sicilian Recipes for cooking rabbit:

CONIGLIO A PARTUISA (Braised rabbit as cooked in Ragusa)

RABBIT COOKED IN CHOCOLATE (Lepre o Coniglio al Cioccolato -‘Nciculattatu is the Sicilian term for in chocolate )

 

 

HARE or RABBIT COOKED IN CHOCOLATE. Lepre o Coniglio al Cioccolato (‘Nciculattatu is the Sicilian term used)

One of my favourite ways to cook rabbit or hare is with chocolate; chicken can also be cooked in the same way but is less common. If it is chicken it will cook in a relatively short time, a rabbit will take longer and a hare will take much longer – I cooked hare and it took close to three hours to cook.

There are several Spanish and South American recipes where chocolate is used in savoury dishes so the chocolate does not need to be considered unfeasible – Spaniards ruled Sicily over long periods.

Those of you who have been to eastern Sicily may have noticed the Baroque architecture that is especially prevalent in this part of Sicily and you may have visited Modica, the centre for Sicilian chocolate; this is where the recipe is said to have its roots.

In this Sicilian recipe the rabbit (or hare) is cooked in the same way as alla stemperata (in all stemperata dishes the ingredients include celery, carrots, onions, vinegar, sugar, raisins or sultanas, pine nuts, green olives and capers) but fennel seeds and cloves replace the last two ingredients and finally dark chocolate is used to enrich and thicken the sauce. The flavours in the stemperata have been partly accredited to the Arabs and are characteristic of much of Sicilian cuisine.

Hare, like all game benefits from marinading in wine before cooking. I do this when I am cooking rabbit as well, but there is no need to marinate chicken. I always save some of the leftover cooked hare and sauce for a pasta dish – use ribbon pasta, e.g. tagliatelle or pappardelle.

Whenever I buy hare I remember butcher shops in Italy where each beast is often left with a part of its body to make it recognizable – the head or the foreleg complete with fur, hoof, claw or paw.

 

INGREDIENTS

hare, rabbit or chicken 1.5- 2 k
dark chocolate, 200 g
onion, 1-2 sliced
red or white dry wine, 1 cup
wine vinegar, ½ cup
cloves, 6-8
celery, 4 stalks, sliced finely
carrots, 3 sliced finely
bay leaves, 4-6
fennel seeds,1 large tablespoon
extra virgin olive oil, ¾ cup
chilli flakes and salt to taste
pine nuts,1 cup
raisins or sultanas, ½ cup (naturally sun dried)
sugar, 1 tablespoon

PROCESSES:
Clean the hare or rabbit or chicken and cut it into manageable sections at the joints.

Marinate it in the wine and half of the quantity of the oil and bay leaves for at least 3 hours and turn it occasionally (if cooking chicken you could marinade it for 1 hour if you wish).
Remove the pieces of meat and drain well; keep the marinade for cooking.
Add the rest of extra virgin olive oil in a large frying pan and sauté the pieces until golden. Remove them and set aside.
Add the onions, carrots and celery to the same pan and sauté until soft but not coloured.
Reduce the heat, and add the wine marinade, bay leaves, fennel seeds and cloves, the seasoning and vinegar. Cover with a lid and simmer it gently until it is soft – the time will vary as it depends on the meat. For example farmed rabbit will cook in a little time ( 40-60 minutes, the same as chicken, whereas a wild rabbit could take 2-3 hours).You may need to add some water periodically as it cooks so that it does not dry out (this has always been my experience).
Add the sultanas or raisins, pine nuts and chocolate about 30 minutes before it is cooked  Remove the lid and evaporate the juices if necessary.
More rabbit recipes:
CONIGLIO A PARTUISA (Braised rabbit as cooked in Ragusa)
PAPPARDELLE