Tuscan Rabbit Ragu with Papparedelle

3 T. olive oil

2-3 pounds hare legs, or lamb or beef stew meat

Salt

2 cups chopped onion

1 cup minced carrot

1 cup minced celery

2 T. sage leaves, chopped

2 T. rosemary, chopped

2 bay leaves

1 handful dried porcini mushrooms, about 1 ounce, chopped

2 T. tomato paste

2 T. red wine vinegar

1 28- ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 cup red wine

Parsley and grated cheese to garnish

 

If you need to soak the jackrabbit pieces, submerge them in buttermilk overnight. The next day, hack them into large pieces with a cleaver or kitchen shears. This will make them cook faster and fall off the bone easier. Rinse the hare under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the hare pieces well. Take your time and do this in batches. Don’t let the pieces touch each other as they brown. Salt them as they cook. When browned, set aside.

When the meat has been browned, add the onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies begin to brown. Add the meat back to the pot, then the sage, rosemary, bay leaves and dried mushrooms. Mix well and allow to cook for a minute. Whisk together the tomato paste and wine and add that to the pot. Add the vinegar. Turn the heat to high to bring everything to a boil, then add the can of crushed tomatoes. Mix well, drop the heat to a bare simmer — only a few bubbles coming up to the surface — cover and let this cook until the hare meat wants to fall off the bone, up to 3 1/2 hours. When the meat is tender, fish out the bay leaves and discard. Remove the hare pieces and pull the meat from the bones. Return it to the pot. Ladle out about 1/3 to 1/2 of the sauce and put it into a food mill with a medium grate attached. Alternately, put it into a food processor or blender. Puree, meat and all. If you use a food mill you will have some dry, stringy hare meat left in the mill; discard or feed to your pets. Return the puree to the pot. Serve with pasta of your choice. I serve by putting the pasta in a large bowl, tossing it with a ladle of the sauce, then plating. I top each plate with some more sauce, then some parsley and some grated pecorino cheese.

 

Yield: 8 servings

Calories: 267 (not including pasta)

Fat: 8g

Fiber: 4g