Rabbit in Red Wine Sauce
Serves: 4-6
Preparation time: 60 min.
Stuffat tal Fenek is a national dish from Malta. The mild, tender rabbit meat is infused with rich, hearty flavors from the red wine sauce and spices. A marvelous slow cooked dish enjoyed by Maltese families on Saints Peter and Paul day on June 29.
Tradionally served with pasta, I recommend Polenta or roasted vegetables.
Ingredients
- 750ml (1 bottle) of dry red wine
- 125ml (1/4 cup) red wine vinegar
- 2 1/4 tbsp brown sugar
- 4 tbsp flour
- 1 rabbit, about 1 1/2 kg (about 2-3 lbs) cut up into 8 pieces
- 10 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 125ml (1/4cup) olive oil
- 12 fresh sage leaves, washed and dried on kitchen towels
- 4 tbsp rosemary leaves, washed and dried on kitchen towels
- salt and freshly ground pepper
Preparation:
Preheat oven at 180°C (350°F).
Mix red wine,vinegar and brown sugar together. Set aside.
Season rabbit parts with salt and pepper. Pour flour on a plate and dredge rabbit parts evenly all over. Shake off excess. Set aside.
Heat olive oil over medium high heat and sauté rabbit all over until nicely browned on all sides.
Transfer rabbit to a baking dish. Set aside.
Add garlic to the saucepan and cook until light golden. Add wine marinade to the skillet. Bring it to a rapid boil scraping all the brown bits left in the saucepan. Taste for salt and pepper. Remove from heat and pour it all over the rabbit in the baking dish. Scatter the sage and rosemary leaves over the rabbit and cover it tightly with an aluminum foil. Bake it until tender about 45 minutes. Remove rabbit from baking pan and set aside.
Pour red wine sauce in saucepan and cook it a bit longer to thicken it a bit if necessary. Serve it with the rabbit.