Olive-Stuffed Rabbit Meat
Submitted by Dani
Italian rabbit saddles boned, rolled around a garlic-olive-rosemary stuffing, then seared and braised in fresh tomato sauce. Rustic Tuscan cooking at its most honest.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
30 minREADY
40 minItalian country cooks figured out long ago that rabbit is at its best when rolled and stuffed. This preparation takes the saddle (the tender back section), bones it out carefully, then rolls it around a simple stuffing of chopped garlic, olives, and fresh rosemary.
The trick is not piercing the meat as you bone it. A small paring knife and slow hands beat any kitchen shortcut. Once flat, season the inside with rosemary, salt, and pepper, spread the olive-garlic mixture down the center, and roll tight. Tie with kitchen string at 1-inch intervals so the roll holds its shape through searing and braising.
After a hard sear in olive oil, chopped fresh tomatoes, chicken stock, and tomato juice pour in for a 20-minute braise. The rabbit takes on the tomato sauce, the sauce takes on the rabbit drippings. Remove the rolls, reduce the sauce until glossy, then slice the rabbit into pinwheel rounds and fan them over the sauce.
Chef Tips
- Ask a butcher to bone the rabbit if knife skills aren’t your strength. Most will do it for a small fee.
- Use good Mediterranean olives like Kalamata or Castelvetrano. Standard black table olives taste dull next to rabbit.
- Don’t skip the sear. The browned fond is what builds the tomato sauce.
- Let the rolls rest 5 minutes before slicing. Cutting hot gives you uneven slices.
Variations
- Add chopped capers or anchovy to the stuffing for a more pungent, Ligurian feel.
- Swap rabbit for pork tenderloin or chicken thighs if rabbit is hard to source.
- Serve over soft polenta or buttered pasta to catch the tomato sauce.
Ingredients
Directions
Remove the bones from meat, taking care not to pierce the meat, sprinkle the inside of meat with the rosemary, salt, pepper.
Mix together the chopped garlic and the olives.
Spread this stuffing down the centre of each saddle.
Roll up the meat, taking care to roll tightly and neatly.
Secure the 2 rolls of stuffed meat with thin kitchin string.
Heat oil in a frying pan and briskly seal the rolls on all sides until golden brown.
Add the tomatoes, stock and tomato juice to the pan, stirring well to mix.
Season with salt and pepper cover and cook on a moderate heat for 20 minutes.
Check the level of the liquid in the pan frequently, stirring and shaking the ingredients from time to time, after 20 minutes remove the rolls to a hot plate and allow the remaining sauce to reduce and thicken.
Cut the rolls into slices and serve on the tomato sauce.
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