Coniglio alla Compagna - Big Ed's Country Rabbit

Back in the day, when the family would make trips out to Grandpa's house, it was always fun to play with his rabbits. Why, oh why, did Grandpa have so many rabbits? I always assumed they were his pets and I doubt I ever asked my parents why he had so many rabbits. Years later, after eating some delicious rabbit here in Roma, I put two and two together and realized Grandpa ate the rabbits! Perhaps he acquired the taste while living in Italy as well. He was on to something. Rabbit is really delicious and healthy, just don't name the things and you'll be eating well. Once you put a name on it, you certainly can't eat it!


A four and a half pound rabbit will feed about 6 people. Have your butcher do his thing. You still have them in America, right?

In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add a cup of olive oil and four whole cloves of garlic. Rinse the rabbit but do not dry it. Add it to the saute pan and let the brown the rabbit on both sides. Once you've browned the rabbit, add a pinch of salt, pepper and and some chopped, fresh rosemary. Next, add a cup and a half of white wine. Stir everything together and cover with a lid. Reduce the flame to a medium-low heat. Let the rabbit cook for about an hour, keep an eye on the wine, you may have to add a bit of water if it looks like it's getting too tight. After an hour, the rabbit should be pulling away from the bone and the wine and oil should have become a fairly viscous sauce. Pull out the garlic cloves and serve immediately. On the side, I suppose we could make one last joke and serve carrots. In effect, we eat the animal AND what he wanted to eat.

My only problem with this dish is that rabbit tends to have a lot of small bones. You have to get down and funky and just get at it with your paws. This isn't date night cuisine. Buon Appetito!

Sorry, Pete!