Hunter's Rabbit with Tomatoes and White Wine

La storia di questo piatto

This is the Lazio countryside made edible — a dish born where hunters returned at dusk, cloaks dusty, hands smelling of rosemary and wild earth, and the table asked no questions, only welcomed.

Ingredienti

• 1 piece (1.2-1.5 kg) Whole rabbit
• 6 cloves Garlic
• 4 sprigs Fresh rosemary
• 2 peppers Red chilli pepper
• 300 ml Dry white Lazio wine
• 100 ml Extra virgin olive oil
• 150 g Smoked pancetta
• 1 piece White onion
• 200 g Canned peeled tomatoes
• 10 g Salt
• 5 g Black pepper
• 2 leaves Bay leaf

Preparazione

1. Take the rabbit and examine it carefully, using your fingers to remove any small skin fragments or bone splinters left behind from the butcher's cuts. Divide the meat into 8 pieces: the hind legs, front legs, breast, and kidneys, cutting with a sharp knife along the natural joints so the blade glides through effortlessly. Then pat each piece dry with paper towels, taking your time with this step, because meat that is thoroughly dried will truly brown and sear in the pan rather than steam and stew.
2. Mince the garlic, rosemary, and chili pepper together until you have a fine, fragrant mixture that already fills your kitchen with wonderful aromas just from the chopping. Using your hands, rub this mixture over each piece of rabbit along with a generous drizzle of oil, salt, and pepper, massaging it in thoroughly as if you're trying to push the flavors deep into the meat itself. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes covered at room temperature, but if you have the patience, refrigerate it overnight: the next day the meat will be infused with garlic and rosemary flavor all the way through to its core.
3. Preheat your oven to 200°C so it will be properly hot when your Dutch oven is ready to go in. In the Dutch oven, add the diced pancetta without any additional fat, let it sear until it turns crispy and golden, then add the thinly sliced onion and let it wilt for a couple of minutes while stirring. Lay the marinated rabbit pieces into the hot base and let them seal well without moving them around too much, so that a golden crust forms that locks the juices inside and adds depth of flavor to the entire dish.
4. Pour the Lazio white wine into the still-hot Dutch oven and stir, scraping up with your spoon all the flavorful browned bits stuck to the bottom—that dark fond is pure gold for your sauce. Add the hand-torn canned tomatoes and bay leaves, cover the Dutch oven but leave it slightly ajar, and place it in the oven. Let it braise for 50-60 minutes, turning the pieces halfway through cooking: the meat is done when it nearly falls away from the bone and a fork slides through it with no resistance.
5. Increase the oven temperature to 220°C and leave the Dutch oven uncovered for a few more minutes: this is the moment when the intense heat dries out the sauce at the surface and creates that golden, inviting crust that makes your mouth water just looking at it. Taste the sauce before bringing it to the table and adjust the salt if needed, then serve the Dutch oven still steaming directly in the center of the table, with slices of Tuscan bread ready to soak up every precious drop of this hunter's sauce.