Thursday, April 1, 2010

Pappardelle With Wild Rabbit Ragu


As the days are getting shorter and colder, there is no denying that autumn has truly arrived. I can't think of a better dish to welcome the cooler months ahead than a tasty slow cooked ragu with pappardelle. This is roughly based on Antonio Carluccio's veal ragu which I saw on television a while back. Like all good braised dishes this will taste even better the next day. Speaking of tasting better the next day I was eating the leftover while watching Italian food Safari , how appropriate! 
P.S try this with veal, duck or pork neck if you are not comfortable dealing with a bunny! Together with goats and camels the adorable rabbits are creating havoc to the fragile ecosystem in Australia, so it is our duty to help eradicate them by eating them one by one :)





recipe for ragu serves 6
you'll need;
1 wild rabbit, cleaned and cut into 3 pieces
2 carrots, peeled and diced
4 celery stalks, diced
1 large onion, chopped
200 g of pancetta, diced (optional)
8 garlic cloves
rosemary, chopped
sage, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 bottle (750ml) passata
1 cup of red wine
chicken stock
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
chopped parsley
grated parmesan 
pappardelle or any wide pasta, cooked according to the packaging




Prepare the ingredients.


Fry pancetta with some oilve oil if using til lightly brown then add the vegetables and saute til vegetables are soften. Add rabbit pieces and fry in the mixture for a few minutes.




Pour passata and red wine into the pot together with the herbs, let everything simmer for 2 hours.




After 2 hours, the meat should be falling off the bones.




Flake the meat off the bones using 2 forks.

Return the rabbit meat into the pot and mix well, add a little stock if the mixture is too dry, check for seasonings.

Ladle some ragu over the pappardelle, top with some chopped parsley and drizzle with some extra olive oil. Don't forget the parmesan.

49 comments:

  1. ohh,makcik tak berani makan rabbit,rasa sungguh kasihan,tak sampai hati sb ianya terlalu comel untuk dimakan.mungkin boleh ganti dengan beef.

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  2. wild rabbit, never eat before, and also hard to find here..

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  3. I hope you didn't eat the Easter bunny...lol...The flavors in this are great...Rabbit is very seldom eaten in the US. I guess its because people don't want to eat the sweet bunny, but I think rabbit tastes pretty good. Your dish looks so comforting.

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  4. Oh you killed the Easter bunny! lol
    I agree with you about the destructions these animals caused in the wild. I love eating rabbit but have never tried coking it at home, perhaps a rabbit ragu could be my first.
    Beautiful dish!

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  5. Although I don't eat rabbit, this dish still looks very tempting to me!

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  6. I have never tried rabbit before and I am very tempted to try this recipe. It looks perfect for a cold night like this.

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  7. Wah, from street food to gourmet! You sure can cook ANYTHING! :) I want to be the 4th Hungry Tummy.

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  8. Comfort food for cold nights! Fabulous! It looks very delicious!

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  9. Noooooooooo...not the Easter bunny! Actually, I quite like rabbit (the one and only time I tried it). Very impressed but also wondering where you got the rabbit? Did you hunt your own? The ragu looks stunning (as does all your food).

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  10. Makcik,
    Ramai yang tidak makan arnab kerana kecomelannya :) Daging lembu atau itik juga sedap masak begini :)

    Sonia,
    Oh really! You may try with duck or beef then

    Bo,
    Thank you very much! Rabbit is quite a pest here so I have no problem eating the bunny :) Do try it sometime. :)

    rosa ,
    Thank you! Let me know if you do!

    Angie,
    THank you very much!

    KL girl in MELB ,
    Thank you! I will be making more dishes like this soon!

    Ju ,
    Come visit and you can be the honourary tummy :)

    CW,
    Thank you very much!

    Amanda ,
    Gracious!
    Besos.

    shaz ,
    Haha no I didn't go hunting :) Got it from the supermarket.
    Thank you very much! :)

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  11. 兔肉我沒吃過,會有腥味嗎?賣像很好呀!

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  12. i love rabbit ....this looks so yummy!!

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  13. je vais finir par m'inviter chez toi un de ces jours pour diner, j'adore tes plats
    bonne journée

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  14. Dear,
    I am very upset you ate the bunny! But the dish looks lovely.I like to imagine that the Ragu sauce was made with chicken or lamb. ;)

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  15. This sounds really delicious. I've not had rabbit in many, many years. Those rabbits certainly love my flower garden!

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  16. Oh dear, this sounds delicious but I'm not going for rabbit. Unless, if I'm in the 'Survival' contest! HAHAHA.... Oh, it's autumn over there right now! Hm, I still remember NZ's winter is on September.

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  17. You're really a great cook!
    Happy Easter Day! I've an award for you, please come and pick it up when you're free.

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  18. We are into Spring but it's still freezing cold at 1 deg Celsius! I still need hot warming food. This one looks very delicious and welcoming. There r lots of wild rabbits here. I wish I can catch them! They'll end up in my pot ......your recipe here I'll make :D

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  19. Rabbit!!! have tasted once...loved it then...this is truly droolworthy...

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  20. wow! so adventurous of you to eat rabbit meat. btw, left an award for you. optional to pick it up or not as it can be rather time consuming :).

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  21. I'd be perfectly comfortable dealing with rabbit, but my girlfriend won't let me. Heh. Sounds fantastic, I'll have to try one of the variations.

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  22. WOW!I love this dish , one of my faves. I didn't use wine though!. That one looks and sounds fantastic!I need to try it out soon.
    What a great cook you are!
    B xx

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  23. This ragu is perfect for a cold Fall evening. Of course, it is just the kind of hearty sauce that I really enjoy. Only problem...It's now approaching the summer months here in the U.S.. As you start to cook-up some fabulous Fall/Winter meals, we will be eating summer foods. :-)

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  24. I am making some rabbit stew this weekend as well! Great minds think alike :)

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  25. You're so brave to try rabbit.. I don't think I will ever attempt to cook it... eat it yes.. cook it.. now =)

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  26. I'll substitute rabbit with chicken instead, hehe...I don't eat rabbit.

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  27. This looks so comforting and delicious. I am going to have to see if my local store sells rabbit. Thanks!

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  28. 大肥,
    不會腥,試試看吧!謝謝!

    nostalgia,
    Thank you!

    Sarah Naveen ,
    I am glad you do, thank you!

    Fimère ,
    Merci bien! Je suis sûr que le jour viendra:)

    Cool Lassi(e),
    Oh I am sorry I upset you, just imagine it has duck in it! :)

    Pam,
    Thank you! Maybe you should trap them :)

    Kristy,
    Haha they eat possums in NZ for the same reason, environmental pest. :)

    Anncoo ,
    Thank you very much! :)

    MaryMoh,
    That is cold! You have to keep cooking warming food! Perhaps you should trap them :)

    Cicily ,
    Thank you! :)

    petite nyonya ,
    Thank you very much! Will pick it up!

    Bob,
    Haha just tell her it's chicken :)

    Betty ,
    Thank you very much! Try it soon :)

    Velva ,
    Thank you! I know you'll be having fresh and light dishes and we will be having soups and braises :)

    penny ,
    Haha I think so too! Can't wait to read about your rabbit stew :)

    msihua ,
    Haha it has been skinned and cleaned, no different from cooking a chicken really. Try it!

    Little Inbox,
    If you use chicken try using only the dark meat or it might get too dry.

    Stacy,
    Thank you! I hope you will find a bunny! :)

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  29. Ahh, rabbit is not something we can get around here unless you hunt it, and we don't have any hunters in my family! It looks delicious though! Perfect timming with Easter! :) Our weather has finally evened out, very plesant again. We don't usually get very cold in the winter!

    Have a Happy Easter!

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  30. I love a rabbit stew for the weekend! I think I have seen them at the supermarket before, I'll be using this recipe if I can find a bunny tomorrow! Enjoy your long weekend!

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  31. You cooked the cute rabbit :( It looks delicious though lol

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  32. tima kasih g blog kiter sinun.... salam kenal yer!

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  33. Awesome..that's all I want to say :-)

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  34. This looks lovely. My husband loves rabbit, so I've bookmarked your recipe to surprise him with a special treat. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Blessings...Mary

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  35. I am very glad you are doing your bit to erradicate thise bunnies ;0) I'm doing my bit to get rid of the pesky cockatoos !!!

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  36. Nice dish for non-veg people! answering your enquery about puri and bhathure, slight diffrence puri made out of chappati flour and bhathure from Plain flour..

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  37. Hi there I love pasta and ragu sauce !! lovely !! Pierre de Paris

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  38. Never had rabbit meat. Looks good with pasta.

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  39. I just wanted to stop by and wish you a great weekend!
    And that there's an award waiting for you on my blog!
    Betty xx

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  40. i never tried rabbit before but it heard it tastes like chicken! this dish looks pretty good!

    have you eaten kangaroo before? i know they are a bit of pest too like rabbits! i now the japan are protesting for us killing kangaroo but duhhh cause we got zillions of them....and the whale is gonna be extinct :P.

    come by to my page and pick up your beautiful bogger award :)

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  41. This looks positively scrumptious. My husband was nagging last night, "When are you going to cook rabbit?" I am always afraid of overcooking it so tend to shy away. This Easter, the bunnies are in full force eating my plants!

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  42. Looks very good indeed - am now inspired to use this as a base from which to build a venison ragu. Thanks for posting.

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  43. looks tasty!!!

    do join www.ozbloggers.com and ping every time you blog a topic..

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  44. It's just now getting warm here! We had a long hard winter, hopefully it won't be so bad for you guys! The ragu looks delicious! We've never ventured to cook rabbit.

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  45. Great Recipe. The ragout looks thick and rich. I agree with you eating bunnies too. A much smaller carbon footprint as well as being free range :) Australia needs less of them.

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  46. Lyndsey ,
    I hope you had a wonderful Easter too! This will taste equally delicious using turkey legs :) Fortunately our winter is not overly cold as well. Enjoy the warmer months ahead!

    darren ,
    They are being sold at both C n W now, happy hunting!

    little panda ,
    Haha their behavior is not very cute though :) Thank you!

    hana,
    Sama sama :)

    my kitchen,
    Thank you very much!

    Gulmohar,
    Thank you very much!

    Mary ,
    Thank you very much! I hope he will enjoy it! :)

    Eternally Distracted,
    Haha do you have a recipe for that :)

    Jagruti ,
    Thank you for the infomation :)

    pierre,
    Thank you very much!

    Pravs,
    Thank you! I hope you will try it!

    Betty,
    Thank you very much! xxx

    Ann ,
    Thank you! It does taste a little like chicken. I cooked kangaroo once in a while. I think their protest is to get back to Australian opposition to them killing whales :)
    Thank you! :)

    Claudia,
    Thank you! You will have to make it for him then. For a braise like this it will be tender after 2 hours, only when roasting or grilling we have to be careful not to overcook it :)

    The Grubworm ,
    Thank you! It will be delicious with venesion!

    ozbloggers ,
    Thank you very much! :)

    Chef Fresco,
    Thank you very much! Our winter is pretty mild, just shorter days :(

    Fouad @ The Food Blog ,
    Thank you very much! Well said!

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