Rabbit | All Things Sicilian and more

RABBIT, CHICKEN and Easter recipes

Recipes for rabbit and chicken consistently generate reader interest especially around Easter. This Ragusa, Sicily-style rabbit recipe coincides with the Easter season in Australia and is always popular.

For those who do not camp, rabbit is a suitable Easter recipe. Alternatively, home cooks are increasingly appreciating these traditional recipes for rustic meats.

My last blog post was a recipe for rabbit:

SICILIAN CUNNIGHIU (RABBIT) AS COOKED IN RAGUSA, ‘A PORTUISA

But here’s the question I often get: Is rabbit considered a suitable Easter dish in Australia?

The answer is yes, but rabbit is not as common or inexpensive as it once was. If you find rabbit hard to source or expensive, you can easily substitute chicken in any of the rabbit recipes below, and vice versa. The flavours and techniques are quite adaptable.

The photos of some of my Sicilian dishes show how popular rabbit and chicken are in Sicilian cuisine.

This post has links for many of my favourite Italian rabbit, hare and chicken recipes that are already on my blog, as well as a few recipes for an Italian Easter that include kid, lamb and pies that are very common in Ragusa, Sicily.

Cooking with the Seasons

One thing that always fascinates me is how the seasons influence our cooking -especially when comparing Italy and Australia. While Italians are celebrating Easter in spring with tender lamb or kid, fresh artichokes, spring greens, and creamy ricotta that is at its best in spring, we in Australia are in autumn.

Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi voi.

This is a common Italian saying that seems appropriate for Australia as well. Whether that’s friends, neighbours, or family, Easter is a time to gather around good food, and that’s what these recipes are all about.

Easter in Ragusa, Sicily

If you happen to be in Ragusa with some of my relatives in Sicily, you might celebrate Easter casually with family and friends, sharing scacce or impanate -delicious pastries filled with vegetables or vegetables and meat wrapped in a golden, olive-oil pastry. (You’ll find links to my recipes for those below!)

If you decide to substitute rabbit for chicken in a recipe, just remember:

Rabbit is leaner and may need a little extra moisture while cooking.

Cook it longer and more gently — slow braises bring out its unique flavour.

Ponte Rosso, Trieste

And if you wish to be in Trieste:

Traditional Easter Sweets in Trieste in Friuli Venezia Giulia

Sicilian Cunnighiu (rabbit) as cooked in Ragusa, ‘a Portuisa’

The Sicilian recipe for rabbit – Cunnighiu a Portuisa as cooked in Ragusa includes olives, capers, wine, and herbs. This is one of my Sicilian aunt’s favourite ways to prepare rabbit, and it remains one of the most distinctive Ragusano dishes I cook.

In dialect, cunnighiu is coniglio in Italian and simply rabbit in English, but each Sicilian province has its own name for this recipe.

When I began researching the dish, I discovered that two respected Sicilian food writers refer to it differently: Giuseppe Coria calls it Cunnighiu a Portisa, while Pino Correnti spells it Cunnighiu a Portuisa. (This demonstrates the variations in the Sicilian dialect).

In Italian the Portisa and Portuisa becomes alla Portoghese—“in the Portuguese style.” No one seems completely certain why the Portuguese are credited, but given Sicily’s long Spanish rule, the Iberian connection is clear enough. Portugal itself did not gain independence from Spain until 1640, and across the region olives, olive oil and capers abound—ingredients shared by both Sicilian and Spanish cooking.

SPANIARDS IN SICILY

Sicily was ruled by the House of Aragon (1282–1516), the Kingdom of Spain (1516–1713), the Duchy of Savoy (1713–1720), the Habsburg Monarchy (1720–1735) and the Kingdom of Naples (1735–1806).

Located on the southwestern tip of the European continent in the Iberian Peninsula are Spain, Andorra and Portugal. Portugal only gained independence from Spain in 1640. Olive oil, olives and capers are extensively used in Sicilian and Spanish cuisine.

ABOUT THE RECIPE

There are several variations of rabbit cooked alla Portoghese in Ragusa. Most versions include green olives and capers; some add white wine, others vinegar. Some cooks enrich the colour with a spoonful of tomato paste, while others add sugar or a little chilli. It’s a wonderfully adaptable recipe.

I recently cooked this dish for friends in Adelaide, and the photos say it all—golden rabbit pieces nestled with olives, capers, herbs and potatoes, the whole kitchen fragrant with wine, vinegar, wine and mint.

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.

THE RECIPE

To make it, I sectioned one rabbit into about five pieces and browned them gently in ½ cup extra virgin olive oil. Salting as I went,

I added green olives, capers (well-rinsed , soaked and in several changes of water if salted), 2–4 cloves garlic, fresh thyme, and, in true Ragusano style, a few fresh bay leaves.

Next came one glass of white wine mixed with ½ cup white wine vinegar, poured over the rabbit before covering the pan and letting everything simmer over low heat. A tender rabbit will cook by the time the liquid evaporates. If not, simply add a splash of water—or more wine—and continue cooking gently until soft.

For the final 20–30 minutes, I added partially cooked potatoes so they could absorb the juices. A handful of fresh mint finished the dish, providing aroma, freshness and a very typical Ragusano touch.

Browned rabbit pieces in olive oil with herbs for Sicilian Cunnighiu.

If the rabbit is tender and cut into small pieces, it may be cooked by the time all the liquid evaporates. If it’s not as young or tender as you hoped (wild rabbits are tougher), and you need to cook it longer, add water, cover with a lid, and simmer gently until soft. Keep adding wine and water.

Rabbit ‘a Portuisa’ with olives, capers and potatoes, cooked the Ragusano way.

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)

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.

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 )

LEPRE ALLA PIEMONTESE (HARE – SLOW BRAISE PIEDMONTESE STYLE)

This is a photo of a segmented hare ready to braise. The hare has been sitting in my freezer for about 6 weeks, but because it is very hard to find, I buy when I see it, irrespective of whether I am ready to cook it or not.

I chose an Ada Boni recipe for cooking hare in the Piedmontese style (recipe from Italian Regional Cooking, Bonanza Books 1995). Boni’s recipe is slightly different to other Piedmontese style recipes recipes I looked at and it includes cognac; other recipes may also contain any of the following ingredients, for example: cinnamon, garlic, rosemary and juniper berries.

I use recipes as a guide and I alter quantities and ingredients to suit my tastes. I like spices and herbs and increased the quantities; I prefer and used fresh herbs rather than the dry suggested in the recipe. Both Barolo and Barbera are wines of Piedmont and understandably Boni suggests using Barbera for the marinade wine, but I used a good quality Australian red wine and chose to drink the Italian. Chocolate smooths out the sauce and I used a greater amount than suggested and rather than adding 4 teaspoons of sugar I added very little sugar; I like using stock and added some to the braising liquid.

I have not used Ada Boni’s words, but the procedure for preparing the hare is more or less what she suggests.

In Australia I have yet to purchase a hare with its liver, heart, little alone its blood – these are used to thicken the sauce towards the end of cooking.

I have written about hare before. See:

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

PAPPARDELLE (Pasta with Hare or game ragù)

Interestingly enough, Alex the small friend in the photograph is now very much grown up.

PAPPARDELLE Continued…

Use an earthenware bowl for the marinade and a heavy bottomed saucepan with a well sealing lid to braise the hare.

Being a Piedmontese recipe, plain polenta makes a good accompaniment.

1 hare cut into pieces (4 legs, back cut into 3 pieces, ribs into 3),

1 and 1/2 bottles of red wine- use enough to cover the hare (Barbera is preferable),

2-3 carrots,

2 large onions (1 for marinade, 1 for sautéing)

3 stalks of celery,

2 bay leaves,

3-4 black peppercorns,

3 cloves,

pinch of marjoram, and pinch of thyme,

salt to taste,

2 tablespoon of butter,

¼ cup of olive oil,

2 tablespoons of bacon fat cut into small pieces (I think that lardo or speck is intended – I used the fat from prosciutto, same taste and texture),

1 square of bitter chocolate, grated,

4 teaspoon of sugar,

3-4 tablespoons of cognac.

PROCESSES

Chop one onion, carrots and celery and put them in an earthenware bowl with the segmented pieces of hare. Add the herbs cloves and peppercorns and a little salt. Cover with the win and let it marinate for 2-3 days in the fridge.

Drain the hare (take the pieces from the marinade and drain them) and then drain the vegetables separately. Keep the wine for cooking the hare.

Heat oil, lardo and butter and brown the hare pieces – use high heat. Remove the hare from the pan and any juices.

Add the onion to the same pan and sauté it gently in a little oil. Add the drained vegetables and sauté these for a few minutes.

Return the hare (and any juices) to the saucepan, pour in the wine (from the marinade), add a little salt. Make sure that the lid is on tightly. Simmer for about 2-3 hours until the meat is cooked. I also added about 1 cup of stock.

Remove the cooked hare and put aside. Remove the bay leaves and if you have used sprigs of herbs remove any of the remaining small sticks (If you can see the pepper corns and cloves remove these as well).

Rub the vegetables in the sauce through a sieve, use a mouli or blend the vegetables in the sauce.

Return the sauce to the saucepan, stir in chocolate, add the hare and taste the sauce – if you think it needs a little sugar add this.

Add the cognac last of all (I only used about 2 tablespoons).

Serve with plain polenta.

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

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.

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

In a large frying pan, heat the extra virgin olive oil and sauté the rabbit pieces until golden.
Add olives, capers, garlic, mint, bay leaves, salt and pepper.
Lower the heat and begin adding the mixture of wine and vinegar gradually as the rabbit cooks.
If the rabbit is young and tender and the pieces small, it may be cooked by the time the liquid has evaporated.
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.
Remove the lid and allow the juices to reduce and caramelise. The rabbit should be a deep golden brown.
Garnish with fresh mint and serve hot.
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.

PAPPARDELLE Continued…..

On 26/2/09, Fred wrote:

Dear Marisa,

 I read your bit about pappardelle. We had pappardelle sulla  lepre alla cacciatora at La Pentola dell’Oro in Firenze. It includes cinque cucchiai di aceto rosso ( 5 spoons of red wine vinegar).

Fred  

Dear Fred,

your recipe which includes five spoons of red vinegar does not surprise me.   There are recipes where the hare, rabbit and boar are soaked in water and vinegar before it is cooked to remove the wild taste – my mother always did this with rabbit. It bleached the meat and left some of the taste. I think that Anglo-Australians soaked wild rabbit in salt water.  

I bought a rabbit at the butcher’s in Greve in December 2008 and was given three parcels, one with the rabbit, the other had the head and the third, the liver – these enrich the sauce. The other variation is the use of herbs – the addition of parsley, sage and rosemary.

There is of course the recipe for hare cooked with bitter chocolate. Now there’s a good taste!

 Marisa

Hare recipes:

LEPRE ALLA PIEMONTESE (HARE – SLOW BRAISE PIEDMONTESE STYLE)

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

PAPPARDELLE (Pasta with Hare or game ragù)

Tag: Rabbit

RABBIT, CHICKEN and Easter recipes

Rabbit and hare recipes:

Chicken recipes:

Easter food, Ragusa, Sicily:

Other Sicilian Easter dishes:

And if you wish to be in Trieste:

Like this:

Sicilian Cunnighiu (rabbit) as cooked in Ragusa, ‘a Portuisa’

Like this:

One way to cook Rabbit like a Sicilian

Like this:

LEPRE ALLA PIEMONTESE (HARE – SLOW BRAISE PIEDMONTESE STYLE)

Like this:

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

CONIGLIO A PARTUISA (Braised rabbit as cooked in Ragusa)

PAPPARDELLE

Like this:

CONIGLIO A PARTUISA (Braised rabbit as cooked in Ragusa)

Sicilian traditions from Ragusa

Memories of Zia Niluzza’s Kitchen

Like this:

PAPPARDELLE Continued…..

Like this: