Rabbit cooked in a blend of onion, olives, capers, and pancetta combined with white wine. 

Have you cooked with rabbit before? Not everyone has, so I thought it would be helpful to share some tips with this recipe.

If you’re new to cooking rabbit, making a casserole dish and slow-cooking it is, in my view, the way to go. You'll get a beautiful sauce full of flavor, and the meat will have ample time to tenderize. Also, keep in mind that farmed rabbit will not yield the same result as free-roaming, wild-caught ones. Asking about the provenance of the rabbit you buy from your butcher is a good idea. Not only does wild rabbit taste better, but farmed and wild rabbits have drastically different cooking times. A farmed rabbit can be ready in 40 to 45 minutes, while wild ones will take anywhere from one to two hours to cook properly. So it pays to know!

When it comes to cooking rabbit effortlessly, make sure that the liquid used for cooking, whether wine, stock, or both, just about covers the meat. This will prevent the meat from drying out when cooking as I noticed when I braised it in the video tutorial . Another tip that is not always shared in recipes is that, like any game meat, marinating the rabbit pieces in wine with a few slices o onion and carrots and some thyme for several hours or overnight will absolutely help with the cooking time and tenderness of the meat. As for cookware, using a cast iron Dutch oven, such as a Le Creuset or equivalent, is best for the job.

But enough about technicalities; let’s talk about the recipe! The Corsicans really have a special way of preparing food. This blend of onion, olives, capers, and pancetta combined with white wine yields a delicious sauce that is slightly tangy with subtle olive flavors and, of course, that beautiful, one-of-a-kind rabbit taste. I can’t help but serve that rabbit meat in a pasta dish where the meat is lightly shredded, then covered with sauce and finished with Parmesan cheese. You can pair the rabbit with a potato purée, but there is something about rabbit and pasta that you just can’t do without.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 rabbit (1.5 kg / 3.3 lbs), cut into 4 to 6 pieces

• 250 g (8.8 oz) sliced onion

• 3 cloves garlic

• 3 tbsp mixed black and green olives

• 2 tbsp capers in brine

• 100 g (3.5 oz) pancetta, cut into lardons

• 200 ml (6.8 fl oz) white wine

• chicken stock or water to top up

• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

• 1 tbsp tomato paste

• 1 tbsp mixed herbs (parsley, thyme, rosemary)

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• Salt and pepper, to taste

MISE EN PLACE

Cut the rabbit into 4 to 6 pieces. Cut the pancetta into lardons. Finely slice the onion. Measure and weigh the rest of the ingredients.

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or small stock pot over medium heat, then add the rabbit pieces and lightly brown them on each side for 5 to 6 minutes. Once browned, remove the rabbit pieces and set them aside on a plate.

2. Still on medium heat, add the pancetta lardons to the pot, stir, and cook for 2 minutes until lightly colored. Then, add the sliced onions and garlic to the pot. Adjust the heat to low and continue to cook the onions and pancetta for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Pour in the vinegar and white wine, mix well, then add the tomato paste, olives, capers, and herbs. Stir thoroughly, then return the rabbit pieces to the casserole and top up with water or stock until the liquid just about covers the meat.

4. Cover and let cook on low heat for at least an 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

5. To serve, shred the meat and scatter it over pasta with some of the cooking juices, olives, bacon, and a smattering of Parmesan. Alternatively, serve it as is with a side of potato purée. Keep in mind that rabbit tends to be a little dry on its own, so don’t hold back on the sauce!

TIP

Wild rabbit tends to be tough, so you may need to cook it over low heat for more then and hour to achieve a tender result.

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