Rabbit is one of those meats that you’re unlikely to find in your average supermarket. It’s not mass-produced, which means you’ll need to find a specialist store to get your hands on some. But trust us when we say that it’s worth the effort because rabbit is one of the best meats that you can eat.
Why?
Rabbit is an excellent source of protein. It’s a lean meat, which means it has very little fat on it, allowing diners to get a strong protein fix without having to worry about eating too much fat at the same time. Rabbit meat is also an excellent source of iron, which your body needs to create healthy blood and to ensure you’re active and strong at all times. Good iron levels also help to combat fatigue.
And there’s more.
Rabbit is loaded with B vitamins, including niacin and Vitamin B12. These types of vitamins are crucial to helping our bodies process the energy we receive from food, in addition to aiding in the healthy growth of nerves, skin, muscles, and hair.
In short, there are a lot of reasons to eat rabbit. Assuming we’ve swayed you onto team rabbit, this article will share a recipe for a tasty rabbit cacciatore dish and share a few Italian wine pairings to enjoy with it.
The Recipe
Rabbit cacciatore literally translates to rabbit hunter, and this dish will definitely make you feel like you’ve hunted down an amazing and tasty treat. The recipe we’re about to share comes courtesy of the fine folks at BBC Good Food. It serves four people and takes about two hours to cook when including preparation time. The good news is that the cooking itself is pretty easy. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- About two pounds of rabbit pieces
- Two chopped onions
- Two tablespoons of flour that you season with salt and pepper
- 300ml of Italian white wine
- Three chopped garlic cloves
- A large and chopped bunch of parsley
- Two 14-ounce cans of cherry tomatoes
- Three tablespoons of olive oil
- 20 large green olives
- A tablespoon of sugar
The Method
Happily, this recipe is pretty easy to follow, even if you’ve never prepared rabbit before. The meat is easy to cook and you don’t have to do a whole lot of preparation work before cooking. Here are the steps to follow.
Step One
Pour a tablespoon of your olive oil into a large and shallow pan and leave it to heat up.
As you wait, toss your rabbit pieces in your flour until they’re completely covered. Split the pieces into three equal batches.
Step Two
Add one of your rabbit meat batches to the pan and heat it until the meat is browned. Then, remove the batch and add another tablespoon of olive oil. When the oil is heated up, brown your second batch. Repeat these steps for the third batch and then place the rabbit meat onto a plate that you set aside.
Step Three
Add your garlic and onions to your frying pan, along with any remaining olive oil. Fry the combination for about 15 minutes, after which you should see the garlic and onions have softened. At this point, add the majority of your parsley and continue to cook for a few more minutes.
Step Four
Add your rabbit to the pan, along with your Italian white wine. Raise the heat and bring the wine to the bubble, allowing it to reduce until there’s only about half of the wine left in the pan.
Step Five
Add your cherry tomatoes to the pan and stir them into the meat, wine, garlic, and onions. By this point, your rabbit should be completely covered. If it isn’t, just add a small splash of water to your pan.
Step Six
Cover your pan and leave the contents to simmer for about 40 minutes. The rabbit should become very tender during this time. However, some rabbit is tougher than others. If yours is still tough after 40 minutes, simply leave it to cook while adding a few extra splashes of water if they’re needed. You’ll know the meat is ready when it starts to come away from the bone.
Step Seven
Add your olives to the pan, cover it, and allow the mixture to simmer for another five-to-10 minutes.
Step Eight
Season the rabbit meat with your sugar and some pinches of salt and vinegar. Serve alongside mashed potato or flat pasta while using your remaining parsley to garnish.
The Italian Wine Combinations
With your succulent rabbit prepared, you want to do what all true Italians do – find the perfect Italian wine to go along with your tasty new dish.
That can be a bit of a challenge with rabbit. The meat is interesting because it combines the best of what dark meat from a chicken offers with just a touch of sweetness, which you’ve added to when preparing your meat. All of this combines to create a meat that has a fairly mild taste to complement its leanness.
As such, overpowering the meat is a key concern. Red wines are almost all out of the picture as they’re simply too strong for combining with rabbit. Instead, opt for a light-bodied Italian white wine. You’re looking for something that is as mild as the rabbit itself, though you may opt for something a little stronger if you combine your rabbit with a strong sauce. If you absolutely have to go with red, search for a light Pinot Noir.
The Final Word
Rabbit may not be your first choice when choosing a meat dish. But it’s an often underrated meat that has a wonderfully unique taste and provides several health benefits. With this gorgeous rabbit cacciatore, you can start your journey of exploring rabbit meat’s potential with a fairly simple dish.
Once you have all of your ingredients, you only need to get your hands on a nice bottle of Italian wine to complement the dish. That’s where we come in. The Xtrawine collection contains plenty of wines that are perfect for pairing with any rabbit dish.
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