Tuscan Rabbit Alla Maremmana

Tuscan rabbit alla maremmana is a typical second course of traditional peasant cuisine. It is very similar to making porchetta which is basically roast pork wrapped in bacon or pancetta.

Rabbit is very lean and you will need to wrap it in a very generous amount of bacon to stop it from drying out.

We will use a deboned rabbit for this recipe and if you are not confident about deboning your rabbit, ask your butcher to do it for you.

Rosemary roasted potatoes

Ingredients – serves 4

• 300 grams of minced beef
• 300 grams of minced pork
• 100 gams of white bread, cubed
• A generous bunch (handful size) of parsley, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
• 1 medium to large rabbit, deboned
• 12 stips of pancetta or bacon
• Salt and pepper

Preparation

1. Prepare the stuffing by placing the minced meats, garlic, parsley and bread in a bowl. Season and mix well.
2. Stuff the rabbit and close with toothpicks or cooking twine.
3. Wrap the rabbit with the pancetta strips.
4. Place in a baking tray and cook at in a preheated oven at 329F/165C, for 2 hours, uncovered.
5. After 2 hours, raise the oven temperature to 356F/180C and continue to roast for a further 10 minutes to crisp the pancetta.
6. Serve drizzled in the juices from the pan with rosemary roasted potatoes or freshly prepared salad and always with a nice crusty bread.