64 NEBRASKAland • MARCH 2017
C
hicken cacciatore is the more
familiar dish, but did you know
that cacciatore means "hunter"
in Italian? I've been making
it with rabbit, and I think it's
finally living up to its name.
Skip the fried rabbit and give this a
try. How does fork-tender rabbit slowly
simmered in tomato gravy with herbs,
wine and mushrooms sound?
Servings: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 2½ hours
Ingredients:
•
1½ pounds of rabbit
•
Kosher salt
•
Freshly cracked pepper
•
¼ cup of all-purpose flour
•
3 tablespoons of olive oil,
separated
•
1 medium onion, chopped
•
8 ounces of mushrooms, sliced
•
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
•
½ cup of red wine (not sweet)
•
3 cups of diced ripe tomatoes
•
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
•
1 bay leaf
•
Reduced-sodium chicken broth,
about 2 cups
•
1 tablespoon of capers
•
Chopped parsley
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cut
rabbit into serving-size pieces. Remove
thick layers of silver skin from rabbit,
but don't worry about getting it all. Pat
dry with paper towels and sprinkle with
salt and pepper, to taste.
2. Over medium-high heat, heat 1
tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan
with a lid. Lightly dredge seasoned
rabbit in flour, shaking off excess.
Brown meat on both sides until
golden brown. Move rabbit to a
plate and set aside.
3. Lower heat to medium. Add onion
and a pinch of salt to the pan; add
more oil if necessary. Sweat onion for
5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then
add mushrooms with a pinch of salt.
Brown mushrooms on both sides, about
5-7 minutes. Add garlic, thyme,
and bay leaf, and cook for 30
seconds. Do not allow garlic
to brown.
4. Pour wine into the pan
and allow it to simmer until mostly
evaporated. Add diced tomatoes to
the pan and then return rabbit to the
pan. Pour in enough chicken broth to
submerge the rabbit halfway. Cover the
pan with aluminum foil and then fit the
lid onto the pan as tightly as you can.
5. Bake rabbit cacciatore in a
325-degree oven for about 2 hours or
until tender. Check halfway through to
make sure there's still sufficient liquid
– if not, add more broth. Thirty minutes
before taking dish out of the oven,
remove the aluminum foil and replace
lid to allow some steam to escape to
thicken sauce. Taste cacciatore sauce
for seasoning. Garnish with chopped
parsley and capers. Serve rabbit pieces
over pasta, rice or
potatoes. ■
This recipe
and photograph
originally appeared
on Jenny's Food
for Hunters blog at
foodforhunters.com.
PHOTO
BY
JENNY
NGUYEN
Rabbit Cacciatore
An Italian hunter-style meal.
By Jenny Nguyen
