Coniglio ripieno al forno

We had always wanted to try this recipe and it turned out to be a very impressive meal...

If you can't find a boned rabbit, the deboning of a rabbit can be watchd here on YouTube
We wanted to do everything, so we found the video very helpful!

Place the boned rabbit on your cutting board, pressing the flesh of the legs into the cavity so as to obtain what looks like a slab of meat. Sprinkle on the meat the rosemary, several leaves of sage, red pepper, black pepper, and salt.

Layer the filling over the herbs, then roll the rabbit up around the filling lengthwise. Roll as tight as possible, taking care that the filling remain within the rabbit. Finally, tie the roll with string as you would any roast.

Place in an oven set to 180°C for about 20 minutes, then add the skinned potaotes covered with rosmary and olive oil. Bake for another 20-30 minutes.

Not only an impressive presentation, but also a rich blending of flavors.

Stuffed Rabbit

1 young rabbit
Herbs: bay leaf, rosmary, red pepper
salt and pepper
Filling:
100g ground beef
100g ground pork
100g sausage

Chopped up chunks of hard cheese, I used pepato stagionato

Involtini di pollo al pistacchio

Kelly joined me for lunch last week and we decided to pass by Enzo and pick up some fresh chicken breast. I had some finely ground pistacchio's from Bronte on hand, and a soft cheese in the fridge, so we were all set.

Kelly was put right to work!

She covered the thinly sliced chicken with a mixture of Parmigiano-Reggiano and pistacchios, then a slice of soft cheese. She then rolled them up and placed them on a baking sheet.

Very delicate and very tasty!

Polenta: salsicce, finocchio selvatico, e tuma

Tuma is a typical Sicilian fresh cheese made from sheep's milk. It has a cylindrical appearance and is sold fresh, no more than 2 days old. Our tuma is made and delivered to us weekly by the same man who makes our ricotta. Renowned for its delicate milk flavour, it has no crust, and the dough is white or ivory-white without holes. The texture is very soft, tender, with a rubbery consistency. Tuma can be consumed either cold or hot. We, however, love to bake it in dishes. Once heated, the Tuma takes on a whole new flavor.

Polenta with sausage, wild fennel, and tuma

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the wild fennel greens and boil the leaves until tender. Remove the greens and set aside. Saving the cooking water, bring back to a boil and begin to prepare the polenta. ( For two, 130 grams of polenta)

Transfer the polenta into a buttered baking dish and let cool.

In a pan, boil down one onion. (Again, I do not fry!) Once cooked, open four sausage links and add the meat to the onions. Cook together until the sausage it browned. Add the boiled fennel leaves to the pan and continue to cook.

Once everything is well combined you can simply cover the polenta dish with the sausage mixture and top with slices of tuma. Place in the oven to brown.

The crunchy tuma, mixed with the sweet delicately flavored finocchio and sausage, made this dish a real pleasure...

"I milinciani cini" (le melanzane ripiene)

Stuffed Eggplant
In a pan with little water, steam 8-10 small eggplants.
Once cooked (very mushy), cut in half, scoop out the center, and save the skins.
Meanwhile, cook an onion in a pan with a small amount of water.
• Water is a healthier alternative to Oil.
Add sausage to the onions and cook.
We then added a hard boiled egg, but you can add a fresh egg.
• This is a recipe to use up items in your fridge, add what you like.
Turn off the heat: Add a small amount of oil, bread crumbs, ham, cheese, and basil.
Then fill the skins with the mixture and cook in the oven.

Involtini Carne

We let the butcher know that we’re making involtini for lunch, so he cuts the meat nice and thin.

Gather together the came ingredients as you would if you were making Carne Maginata: bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and parsley. In addition add ham and soft cheese.
Sprinkle the mixture on the meat and layer ham and cheese over the meat. Carefully roll the meat and cut into pieces.
Place the pieces on a baking sheet and bake in the oven.


Rolled meat

Coniglio e Carne

Rabbit and Meat
We combined the two, but they can be served individually.

Meat
In a pan begin to prepare the ragu:
• Cut up celery, carrots, and an onion
• Sauté in a small amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Place the meat into the pan and brown the meat.
Once the meat is browned add natural tomato sauce. (Unflavored, you want the flavor of the meat to be the taste.)

Rabbit
Cut the rabbit into pieces.
Bring a pot of water to a boil.
Once boiling, add the rabbit to the pot along with the juice of one squeezed lemon.
• You’re boiling the meat for only a few minutes. You do not want to completely cook the meat, but remove the wild odor.
Place the almost cooked rabbit into a pan with a small amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
• Continue to brown and cook the meat.
Once browned, add the rabbit to the meat ragu and let the two flavors blend.

Pasta
If there happens to be too much liquid once the meat is cooked, uncover and bring to a boil. Continue to heat until the liquid is boiled down.
• We serve the meat as the second plate, and the ragu sauce accompanies the pasta as a first plate. You want the sauce to stick to the pasta.

Melanzana Roste e Carne Roste

Grilled Eggplant

Cut Eggplant into slices.
• You want to choose an eggplant not to firm. You should be able to squeeze it slightly.
• If there are too many seeds try to remove them.
Roast on the grill until slightly blackened on both sides. No need to salt and let sit for 30 minutes.
• Mamma prefers the flat iron grill shown below
Remove from the heat and place on a plate containing:
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil, garlic, basil, and salt
You can serve immediately, or even better, the next day!
Leftover Eggplant cooked like this is great in homemade spaghetti sauce…

Grilled Meat

Here, in Sicily, meat is cut thin. Seldom, if ever, have I seen a thick slice of meat. I mainly added this meal, not because of the cooking method, because that is the same. Rather, I added it because of the grill that they use. Every family has one of these…

Once cooked:
• Sprinkle with salt, dried herbs (Rosemary), and drizzle on Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Carne Macinata

One egg for every 100 grams of meat
• (Mamma uses 1/2 kilo meat with 4 eggs)
Prepare a mixture of grated Parmigiano cheese, bread crumbs, and parsley.
Mix these ingredients together in a bowl.
Shape the meat into small patties and fill the center with a piece of soft cheese.
Place on a baking pan and cook in the oven.

This recipe is also used when grilling on citrus leaves. You place the meat mixture, minus the cheese, between two citrus leaves and grill. The aroma of the leaves penetrates into the meat.