RABBIT LIGURIAN STYLE RECIPE
Ingredients:
- A young rabbit weighing about one and a half kilograms
- 8 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 bay leaves
- A pinch of thyme
- 1 roughly chopped onion
- Half a stalk of celery
- 1 tablespoon of rosemary leaves
- 2 tablespoons of pine nuts
- 2 walnut halves
- 1 ladle of broth (made by boiling the rabbit scraps, alternatively, vegetable broth will work fine)
- 25 Taggiasca olives in brine
- 2 glasses of Rossese Riviera Di Ponente wine
- Salt
Preparation of RABBIT LIGURIAN STYLE:
Ask your trusted butcher to portion a rabbit of about 1.5 kg and kindly request that the head be cut in half. The head will be used in cooking to help retain its juices.
Next, in a terracotta pan, pour the oil and sauté the onion, along with the chopped celery, pine nuts, walnut halves, bay leaves, rosemary, and thyme. Once these ingredients have taken on color, add the pieces of rabbit, including the head and liver, and brown them well for a few minutes, turning them as needed.
At this point, season with salt and pour the Rossese wine over the rabbit. Allow the wine to evaporate, and then add 3 to 4 ladles of broth, just enough to almost cover the rabbit.
While the rabbit cooks, occasionally moisten the pieces with the broth so they remain tender and do not stick to the bottom of the pan.
Once you believe the rabbit is about halfway cooked, sprinkle the Taggiasca olives on top and finish cooking. The rabbit should appear well browned. Finally, serve the rabbit, Ligurian style, with its rich cooking sauce and accompany it with the delicious Taggiasca olives.
