Why have chicken when you can have rabbit? Why indeed! I've discovered that my local Harris Teeter often times carries rabbit. Yes, it may come frozen solid in white, rectangular box. And yes, the contents of the box are that same rectangular shape. I'm not a rabbit expert, and certainly haven't seen too many rabbits in the wild, but I've never encountered a rectangular rabbit. No matter, after what seems like several days or so of running under a warm faucet, a tender little rabbit in six convenient pieces emerges.
This, of course, is not the picture of a Tuscan hare hanging from its hind paws over the shoulder of a ruddy woodsman. The writers of my Silver Spoon cookbook no doubt did not have this in mind when they say rabbit is a widely available meat that is white, lean, tender, tasty and eaten mainly in the winter. They find wild rabbit a more flavorsome, aromatic meat as they are free to feed on the herbs found in the wooded areas where they live. Good to know if I ever encounter one outside its box. But, I assure myself that it can't be too bad. After all, high quality seafood, and in many cases the most prized sushi, are flash frozen to preserve its freshness.
I may not totally believe this myself, because I recently chose a preparation that doesn't necessarily show off the freshness of a young, forest rabbit. But Coniglio alla Cacciatora, or Rabbit Cacciatore, is the ultimate in comfort food to me, just the meal to get through a cold, rainy day. Brown the rabbit pieces with onion, garlic and prosciutto, braise in wine and thyme, simmer in diced tomato, what could be simpler or more satisfying than that? Served with soft polenta, this dish combines something different, something satisfying and something sophisticated. Serves 2.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/3 cup prosciutto, chopped
1 garlic clove, diced
1 rabbit, cut into pieces
3/4 cup dry white wine
1fresh thyme sprig
1 can diced tomatoes
cornstarch
soft polenta
Preparation:
Melt the butter and add the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion and prosciutto and cook, stirring for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove the onion mixture and set aside. Increase the heat to medium high, add the rabbit pieces, and brown all over. Remove the rabbit to a plate and add the wine. Scrape any bits off the bottom and return the onion, prosciutto and rabbit to the pan. Add the thyme, bring to a boil, cover, turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, bring back to a simmer, cover and cook another 30 to 60 minutes. Remove the rabbit pieces and shred the meat from the bones with a fork, leaving the back legs intact for presentation. If a thicker stew is desired, add 1 tsp of cornstarch mixed with 1 tsp of cold water and bring back to a simmer. Repeat if desired. Stir the meat back into the stew. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over soft polenta.
