Monday, June 06, 2011

Rabbit Ragu (ragu di coniglio)



Asheville's tailgate markets are such an asset to the city. At weekends and during the week you can find markets bursting with local produce allover the city; cheese, cured meats, handmade baked goods and even soaps, all find a place here. We are lucky enough to have one almost at the bottom of our hill. A favourite vendor of mine is East Fork Farms, because they provide two of my favourite meats - lamb and rabbit. Their ground lamb bursts with rich flavour and has elevated my already pretty good meat loaf to something intense and delicious.

The rabbit we bought from them was still whole (though thankfully without its head or fur), so I had to cut it up myself, fine but not for the Bugs Bunny lover! The advantage of a whole rabbit is that I could use the giblets and bones to make stock.

The picture above is of the tremendous ragu I made, and the recipe comes from Mille Fiori Favoriti, a great blog. If you try the recipe, be warned that the ingredients omit chicken broth though it's mentioned in the method. I added 1 cup of GOOD QUALITY stock in with the tomatoes. Don't be tempted to cut back on the cooking time, rabbit has no fat so needs slow cooking in some kind of liquid to keep moist and tender. Once the rabbit is cooked and falls of the bone, you could leave it whole and puree the sauce for a decadent variation.

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