The first time I saw a skinned rabbit, I thought it resembled something from the movie Alien… but I soon got over it when I tasted this stew — rich and redolent of Gozo itself.
Serves 4
1 rabbit, jointed
1 bottle of red wine
2 large onions, peeled and one roughly chopped, one finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil ( more if needed)
1 large spring onion, green only, chopped
a handful parsley
2 bay leaves
6 sprigs of thyme
10 whole peppercorns
4 small carrots,peeled and chopped
250ml tomato passata
200ml chicken stock
1 strip of lemon peel, chopped
1½ lb fresh or frozen peas
2 tablespoons salted capers, rinsed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Preheat oven to 160˚C or gas mark 4.
2. Place the rabbit in a bowl with the roughly chopped onion, carrots, two of the garlic cloves, the herbs and the whole peppercorns. Add enough wine to cover, and leave to marinate for at least 1 ½ hours — overnight would be better.
3. Fry the finely chopped onion and the last clove of garlic slowly in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until lightly golden, and remove to a casserole dish. Remove the rabbit pieces from the marinade, dry them thoroughly, and brown all over in the frying pan, adding more olive oil if needed. Once they are nicely brown, put them into the casserole, and deglaze the frying pan with some of the wine from the marinade. Add the chicken stock, and reduce by a third, scraping up the cooking residue.
4. Put the green of the spring onion, the lemon peel, and the passata into the casserole. Pour over the reduced wine and stock, and the rest of the marinade. There should be enough liquid to cover the rabbit, but if not, add some more of the wine. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Cover the casserole, and bring to the boil for 15 minutes on the hob. Then place it in the oven for 1½–2 hours, or until the rabbit is cooked and falling away from the bone. About 10 minutes before the end of cooking add the peas and the capers. Serve sprinkled with some chopped parsley and with a pile of sautéed or mashed potatoes, or just a few chunks of fresh bread.
