Rabbit with Crusco Peppers and Olives, Lucanian Style

La storia di questo piatto

In Basilicata the sweet pepper is dried in the sun until it turns paper-thin and crimson, and Senise's crusco is the pride of the Lucanian table. Here it meets rabbit, black Gaeta olives and a slow red sauce: southern flavors, rooted in a land of stone and sun.

Ingredienti

• 1.4 kg Rabbit, cut into pieces, bone-in
• 100 g Lucanian crusco peppers (IGP Senise)
• 200 g Pitted Gaeta black olives
• 400 g Peeled tomatoes
• 2 medium Medium onions, finely chopped
• 3 cloves Garlic, cloves crushed and peeled of their germ
• 90 ml Extra virgin olive oil (about 30 ml for frying the crusco peppers, 60 ml for browning and the soffritto)
• 200 ml Dry red wine
• 250 ml Meat broth
• 0.5 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 g Salt
• 1 teaspoon Dried oregano
• 1 pinch Chilli pepper

Preparazione

1. Clean the rabbit well and cut it into fairly large pieces, then pat them dry with kitchen paper: a dry surface is what browns best in the pan. Season the pieces with restraint, since the olives, broth and crusco peppers are already savoury; adjust the salt only at the end.
2. Heat about 30 ml of oil (two generous tablespoons) in a small pan and fry the 100 g of whole crusco peppers, a few at a time and for only 5-10 seconds, until they become crisp and an intense colour, without burning them. Drain on kitchen paper. Keep most of them aside for the final garnish and set aside about 30 g to crumble into the sauce in step 4: their sweet, slightly smoky aroma will already be noticeable from here.
3. Heat 35 ml of the oil well in a wide pot, then lay the rabbit pieces in without overcrowding them, otherwise they will sweat instead of browning. Let them brown over medium-high heat, turning them occasionally, until each side takes on a nice golden colour, then set them aside on a plate, collecting the juices they release.
4. In the same pot, without cleaning it (there is all the flavour of the rabbit in it), add the remaining 25 ml of oil and soften the chopped onion with the crushed garlic cloves over low heat, until they fill the kitchen with a sweet, inviting aroma. Crumble the 30 g of reserved fried crusco peppers into the soffritto and stir for a minute, so they release their aroma.
5. Pour the red wine into the pot and stir, scraping up with the spoon all the flavours stuck to the bottom: that is where the best part hides. Let it reduce until you no longer smell the sharp alcohol, then add the chopped peeled tomatoes, the oregano and the chilli, stirring to combine everything.
6. Return the golden rabbit to the pot together with the juices released on the plate, pour in the hot broth (hot, not cold, otherwise cooking slows down) and bring everything to a lively boil. As soon as it boils, cover with the lid and lower the heat to minimum: from here on, patience does the most important work.
7. Cook over low heat with the lid on for about 50 minutes, stirring now and then gently so as not to break the pieces of meat. At the end the meat should already be tender: in the next step you will uncover the pot to reduce the sauce.
8. Uncover the pot, add the pitted black olives, which will lend a savoury note and a rich dark colour to the dish, and cook for 10 minutes over medium-high heat, so the liquid reduces to a thicker, glossier sauce. The rabbit is ready when the meat almost falls off the bone. Taste before turning off the heat and only now adjust salt and pepper if needed, with an extra pinch of chilli if you like it bold.
9. Arrange the rabbit on plates with its fragrant sauce and top with the reserved crispy crusco peppers, whole or just broken by hand at the last moment, which add contrast and are also lovely to look at. Serve piping hot, with a slice of Matera bread or good Lucanian homemade bread to mop up the sauce, or with roast potatoes on the side.