
Bucatini con coniglio all’Ischitana
The primary time I ate pasta with braised rabbit wasn’t really in Italy, however on the Mediterranean island of Malta. There, rabbit is a really conventional meals, normally served with spaghetti and/or as a most important course. The Maltese usually begin with pasta dressed with the sauce from braised rabbit. Then they’ve the items of rabbit with chips and greens after!
I not too long ago found that just about the very same custom exists on the island of Ischia, off the coast of Naples in Campania. Though the recipe for cooking the rabbit in Malta is completely different to how they make it in Ischia, each are scrumptious!

Rabbits on the island of Ischia.
Apparently rabbits have been launched to the island by the Phoenicians and shortly turned an essential meals supply for the islanders. Initially the rabbits have been wild, however in time the islanders began to farm them.
The standard approach to breed rabbits in Ischia is to allow them to stay in a semi-wild surroundings in ditches with slender tunnels. These tunnels run 3 or 4 metres underground and the rabbits dig them themselves. Rabbits bred with this methodology are known as “Conigli di fossa” (which means ‘ditch or cave rabbits’).
Immediately ditch or cave rabbit is a Sluggish Meals presidium.

Coniglio all’ischitana.
The oldest and most well-known recipe for cooking rabbit on Ischia known as, unsurprisingly ‘coniglio all’ischitana’ (which means Ischian rabbit). This dish, which is taken into account the signature dish of Ischian cusine, entails braising or stewing rabbit items in wine with herbs and tomatoes.


On Ischia, the rabbit braising sauce is historically served with bucatini pasta as a primary course (primo piatto). The rabbit items are then eaten afterwards together with fried potato slices.
Nevertheless, various Italian recipes I discovered additionally counsel including among the rabbit meat to the sauce to offer it extra physique and serving the pasta together with additional items of rabbit should you’re not planning to have a second course. That is what I did.

Elements for braised rabbit ragu.
Rabbit: You should use an entire rabbit which you’ll need to joint your self or ready-jointed rabbit items. Even simply rabbit legs work nice.
Aromatics: This recipe requires garlic, purple chili flakes (peperoncino) and recent parsley, rosemary and thyme or marjoram. You should use dried herbs as an alternative and go away the chili out should you choose.
Cherry tomatoes: Use deep purple ripe tomatoes for the perfect taste. If recent cherry tomatoes aren’t accessible, different small tomatoes like datterini are good too. Alternatively, canned peeled cherry tomatoes are a great substitute.
White wine: The rabbt items should be marinated in white wine for at the very least a few hours earlier than making the rabbit ragu. I used a Soave wine from the world I stay in however any dry white wine works.
Flour: All you want is just a little white comfortable wheat flour to roll the rabbit items in earlier than frying them. I used Italian ‘oo’ flour. All goal flour is ok as an alternative.


Different substances
Other than the abovementioned most important substances, this pasta with braised rabbit ragu requires salt (for pasta cooking and seasoning), olive oil to cook dinner the rabbit and black pepper to season the completed sauce.

What pasta must you use?
As I discussed earlier than, this pasta with rabbit dish is often served with bucatini. For many who don’t understand it, bucatini is an extended pasta similar to spaghettoni, which means massive spaghetti, however bucatini is hole. which
Some Italians say bucatini is a superb pasta for hearty or creamy sauces because the sauce really will get contained in the pasta strands. I’m unsure that the sauce actually will get inside, except you suck the bucatini like a straw (sure! you possibly can, however be warned it’s messy!)
After all, you may also use different pasta. Lengthy sorts comparable to spaghetti or bigoli would work properly, as would ziti which can be hole, or brief pasta comparable to fusilli or penne.

Rabbit meat is nice for you.
My hubby isn’t an amazing fan of rabbit however he devoured this dish! I personally like rabbit. It’s a ‘wholesome’ meat, low in fats, excessive in protein (greater than beef or hen) and has a excessive focus of iron and different minerals. As well as, it’s low in energy and when cooked properly rabbit will be actually tender and attractive (like on this pasta with braised rabbit recipe!!)

Step-by-step directions for pasta with braised rabbit.
1) Marinate the rabbit items in 200ml white wine for at the very least 2 hours or in a single day. Then drain and pat dry with kitchen paper ( I additionally added some rosemary and thyme to the wine). Subsequent roll the rabbit in flour seasoned with salt and pepper.
2) Wash the tomatoes and halve them. Peel the garlic cloves and wash the recent herbs. Recent sprigs of rosemary and thyme or marjoram will be saved entire, the parsley must be chopped.
3) Warmth the olive oil in a heavy backside skillet or saucepan. Add the garlic cloves and peperoncino and sauté for a minute or two till the garlic is frivolously golden. Then add the floured rabbit items.
4) Fry the rabbit on each side till golden brown, then take away the garlic cloves and add some white wine. Enable the alcohol to evaporate just a little after which cowl and simmer the rabbit within the wine for quarter-hour over a medium warmth. Flip the rabbit items and proceed to simmer coated for one more quarter-hour.
NB You should use wine from the marinade however I choose so as to add recent wine.
5) Add the cherry tomato halves, thyme or marjoram and rosemary, plus salt and pepper to style and proceed cooking uncovered for a couple of minutes till the tomatoes begin to soften.

6) Cowl and let cook dinner till the meat is completed (one other 15-20 minutes), including a bit extra wine as essential to preserve it from drying out and to acquire a pleasant sauce for the pasta.
Prepare dinner the pasta, end and serve.
7) Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt as soon as it begins to boil and produce to a boil once more.

8) Take away the rabbit items from the pan to a plate and both preserve all of it heat to serve individually with potatoes, or take away the meat from half or among the rabbit items, chop it finely and add again into it the sauce.
9) Prepare dinner the bucatini al dente in keeping with the directions on the packet. When prepared, save a cup of the cooking water and drain.

10) Add among the pasta cooking water to the sauce if it appears dry then add the bucatini pasta and blend all the pieces collectively properly in order that the pasta will get coated within the sauce. Lastly add the chopped recent parsley.
Serve instantly with additional items of rabbit should you aren’t planning one other course or to make use of the cooked rabbit one other time.

What to do with leftovers.
When you have leftover bucatini pasta with braised rabbit ragu you possibly can preserve it in an air-tight container within the fridge for as much as 3 days. Reheat leftovers within the microwave or bake them with a sprinkling of pecorino on high.
Leftover braised rabbit items will be frozen in a freezer pleasant container for as much as 3 months. defrost earlier than reheating.
Let me know what you suppose.
If you happen to like consuming rabbit, you’ll love this recipe. If you happen to’ve by no means tried rabbit and want to, I believe this is able to be an amazing dish to begin with. Do let me know should you do that Ischian bucatini pasta with braised rabbit recipe. You’ll be able to write a remark right here on the weblog, e-mail me or touch upon the Pasta Challenge Fb web page. I might love to listen to from you.
Buon appetito!
Different pasta with recreation recipes to attempt.
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