Recipe: Rabbit Ragù

Confused by the title and the picture?  These fellas are so adorable but most people are okay with eating chicken.  So why are people so weirded out about eating rabbit?  Rabbit is a sustainable meat choice and also incredibly lean and healthly.  But enough with the lecture.... ragù is a meat sauce typically served with pasta. There are various different types based on region. This version uses rabbit, but lamb is also very delicious, and I won't hold it against you if you want to use beef. 

If you're not using rabbit, use about 2lbs of shoulder meat, boned and cut into about 1 inch peices and substitute the chicken stock for beef stock.  Boneless rabbit meat would be ideal, but if your butcher is like mine - a 16 yr at my neighbourhood Longo's, that may not be possible.  Don't worry, after cooking, all the meat will easily fall off the bone.  Fret not!

Serves 4

-1 rabbit, about 3lbs, cut into 8 pieces

-1 large onion, diced
-2 large carrots, diced
-1 rib of celery, diced
-3 colves of garlic, diced
-2 tbsp of vegetable oil
-2 tbsp of all purpose flour
-1 cup of dry white wine
-2 cup of chicken stock
-1 cup of diced tomatoes
-2 tbsp of tomato paste
-1 small sprig of fresh oregano, stem removed and chopped
-5 sprigs of  fresh thyme, stem removed and chopped
-2 bay leaves
-2 tsp of salt
-1/2 tsp of ground black pepper

• Preheat oven to 350F, and place rack in lower position.
• In a large casserole pot on medium heat, add vegetable oil, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, salt, oregano and thyme.  Cook for a few minutes until the onons are translucent.
• Add meat and sprinkle flour while stirring to coat.
• Add wine and scrape the bottom of the pot to.
• Add tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, bay leaves, and black pepper.  Bring to a boil.
• Cover tightly with lid and place in the oven for 1 1/2 hrs.
• Test doneness - meat should pull away easily from the bone (If boneless meat was used it should cut easily with the side of a fork. Skip the next three steps if boneless meat was used).
• Remove the meat and spread it out on a platter or baking sheet to cool. 
• When cool enough to handle.  Remove the meat from the bone and pull it into smaller pieces with your fingers.
• Add it back to the pot and reheat. 
• Serve with the pasta of your choice.  I suggest orrecchiette, gnocchi or gnudi, rigatoni, or a wide noodle.

Tip: When reheatig leftover ragù , you can add a little more stock if needed.