Pappardelle With Rabbit Ramps And Wild Garlic Recipes

PAPPARDELLE WITH RABBIT, RAMPS, AND WILD GARLIC

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Dredge rabbit or chicken in flour mixture, coating all sides. Shake off excess.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter with the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Add meat pieces. (Work in batches if necessary.) Cook until dark golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
• Reduce heat to medium, and add garlic and ramp bulbs. Cook, stirring, until translucent and soft, about 5 minutes.
• Return meat to pan. Add stock, wine, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and cover. Place in oven, and cook until meat is very tender, about 1 hour. Transfer meat pieces to a plate. Cut meat from bones in large chunks. Discard bones.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Place the pan with the cooked garlic and ramps and their cooking liquid over high heat, and boil until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Add meat and ramp leaves. Cook for 2 minutes. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Remove from heat.
• Drain pasta, and add to meat mixture. Toss gently, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

BRAISED RABBIT WITH FRESH PAPPARDELLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 F. Season rabbit with salt and pepper. In a large pot over medium heat, add oil followed by rabbit (everything but the wings) and sear until golden brown, 15 minutes. Delicately remove the rabbit when golden brown and set aside to rest.
• To the pan, add onion, celery and carrots and cook 10 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste, sage and rosemary and cook 5 minutes. Continue by adding tomatoes, vinegar, and verjus and cook 5 more minutes. Add rabbit wings and dashi and bring to a boil. Add remaining rabbit and season with salt. Cover with parchment paper (cartouche) and place in the oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Pull some rabbit meat off the bone along with braising liquid and place in a saucepan.
• Add 1 cup cooked pasta and toss with rabbit, parsley, Parmesan and butter. Gently cook pasta until glazed with sauce and appears sheen. Serve with additional rabbit and Parmesan shavings.

PAPPARDELLE WITH LONG-COOKED RABBIT SUGO

Steps:

• Trim the rabbit pieces of any fat, rinse them well, and pat dry.
• Using the food processor, mince the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and basil for 15 to 20 seconds, to a paste.
• Season the rabbit pieces all over with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pour the olive oil into the saucepan, and set over medium heat. Lay all the meat in the pan, and let the pieces caramelize gradually, turning them every couple of minutes, until lightly browned on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Scrape in the pestata, and stir it around the pan, tumbling the rabbit pieces over to coat them with the paste. Sprinkle in the peperoncino and keep stirring, scraping up the browned bits on the pan bottom and sides, as the pestata steams and sizzles.
• When the pestata is dry and starting to stick in the pan, pour in 2 cups or so of hot stock, almost to cover the meat. Sprinkle in 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring the liquid to a boil, adjust the heat to keep it perking gently, and cook partially covered, occasionally turning the rabbit pieces and stirring up the seasonings. As the liquid reduces, stir in another cup of hot stock every 20 minutes or so. Cook 1 1/2 hours or more, until the rabbit meat is quite tender; then turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let the sugo cool completely.
• Remove the rabbit pieces from the braising juices, and pull all the meat off the bones. Discard bones and cartilage; shred the meat in bite-sized morsels, and stir it back in the juices. Add more stock so the sauce has a flowing consistency, heat to a simmer, and cook for another 15 minutes or longer, until the meat is moist and melded with the sauce. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• While the sauce is hot, toss in pappardelle (as detailed in the preceding recipe), other pasta, or gnocchi. Or cool the sauce to use later; thin it with stock when reheating.

RABBIT RAGU WITH PAPPARDELLE

Steps:

• Pat the rabbit pieces dry and season with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the oil and brown the pieces, working in batches if needed to avoid crowding. Transfer to a plate.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the anchovy (if you choose) and mash it until it dissolves into the oil. Add the onion, carrots and celery, stirring until soft, about 5 minutes. Then add the red-pepper flakes, garlic and tomato paste, stirring for another minute. Deglaze the pan with the wine, turn the heat to high and boil to burn off the alcohol, about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, broth, bay leaves and thyme. Return the rabbit pieces to the pot, spacing them evenly so they are partly covered by the liquid. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the rabbit is falling off the bone, about 2 hours. Turn the pieces at least once.
• Turn off the heat and discard the thyme and bay leaves. Remove the rabbit from the sauce and let cool; then pull the meat from the bones. Shred some pieces and leave others large. Return the meat to the pan and simmer the sauce until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the butter, piece by piece. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pappardelle until al dente. Before draining, save a cup of the pasta water. Toss the pappardelle with the sauce over low heat, adding pasta water as necessary if the sauce is too thick. Divide among pasta bowls and top with the grated cheese.