cook.

Stuffat tal-Fenek

Name: Stuffat tal-Fenek
Total time: 150 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Maltese
Ingredients: 1 rabbit, jointed into 8 pieces; 500 ml dry red wine; 6 cloves garlic, crushed; 3 bay leaves; 1 tsp black peppercorns; 4 tbsp olive oil; 2 onions, chopped; 2 carrots, in rounds; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 400 g tomatoes, chopped; 600 g potatoes, in large chunks; 100 g frozen peas; salt and black pepper, to taste

Malta's rabbit stew: marinated overnight in red wine and bay, then cooked slowly in the marinade...

Ingredients

1 rabbit, jointed into 8 pieces

500 ml dry red wine

6 cloves garlic, crushed

3 bay leaves

1 tsp black peppercorns

4 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, chopped

2 carrots, in rounds

2 tbsp tomato paste

400 g tomatoes, chopped

600 g potatoes, in large chunks

100 g frozen peas

salt and black pepper, to taste

Method

Marinate the rabbit overnight in the wine with the garlic, bay leaves and peppercorns, covered, in the fridge. Do this the day before; four hours is not the same thing.

Lift the rabbit out and dry every piece well. Wet meat will not brown, and keep the marinade - all of it goes back in.

Brown the rabbit hard in the olive oil, in batches, then set it aside.

Soften the onions and carrots in the same pan for 10 minutes, then fry the tomato paste for 2 minutes until it darkens.

Pour in the reserved marinade, bay leaves and all, and let it boil hard for 3-4 minutes to drive off the raw alcohol. Skipping this leaves a sharp edge that never cooks out.

Return the rabbit with the chopped tomatoes, cover, and simmer very gently for 1 hour. Rabbit toughens over a fast boil, then never softens again.

Add the potatoes and cook for 30 minutes more, uncovered for the last 15 so the sauce thickens around them.

Stir in the peas for the final 5 minutes and season.

Serve it the Maltese way if you like: the sauce over spaghetti as a first course, then the rabbit and potatoes as the second.