Accursio Craparo serves up his stunning rabbitravioli recipe, served with a rich Ragusano cheese fondue, carrot pâté and a scattering of broad beans and peas.
To begin, debone the rabbit, keeping the bones for the stock, 500g meat for the ravioli filling and 100g of the meat for garnish. Keep any remaining meat in the fridge for other dishes. Ask your butcher to debone the rabbit for you if you're not comfortable with this process
1 rabbit, deboned (use the bones for the stock, 500g meat for the filling and 100g for garnish)
2
To make the rabbit stock, heat a dash of oil in a large stock pot and add the rabbit bones, carrot, celery and onion. Cook until everything is nicely caramelised
Add the Marsala and cook until evaporated. Add the water, tomato pulp, thyme, salt and pepper, then leave to cook gently for 2 hours. Pass through a fine sieve when ready
While the stock is cooking, make the pasta dough. Mix together the ingredients together to form a dough then knead for a few minutes until elastic. Leave to rest in the fridge for a few hours before making the ravioli
To make the Ragusano cheese fondue, heat the milk and cream to 100°C with the starch, black pepper and nutmeg, then cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until melted and well-combined
To make the carrot pâté, peel the carrots and season with pinch of salt, sugar and black pepper. Place the carrots on a large sheet of greaseproof paper and fold up to make a sealed parcel. Cook in the oven until tender
Remove the carrots from the oven and place in a blender. Blitz to a smooth purée, then with the motor running on a low speed, drizzle in the oil to emulsify. Set aside until needed
50g of oil
9
To make the Ragusano crisps, grate the cheese in an even layer onto a sheet of baking paper. Microwave on medium power for 3 minutes. Allow to cool, then keep in an airtight container until ready to serve
When the stock is ready, make the filling. Finely chop the reserved 500g of rabbit meat and brown in oil with the chopped onion and thyme. Add the Marsala and reduce to almost nothing. Add the broad beans and 500ml of the rabbit stock and cook until the rabbit is tender and the mixture has reduced into a thick ragù. Add the cocoa nibs, season to taste and leave to cool
black pepper
1 onion, diced
100ml of Marsala wine
100g of broad beans, blanched and peeled
25g of cacao nibs
1 dash of olive oil
salt
11
Remove the pasta dough from the fridge and pass through a pasta machine until you reach the thinnest setting. Cut the pasta into 8cm squares, lay on a floured work surface, and place a teaspoon of the cooled rabbit filling into the centre of each square
12
Fold over the corners of the ravioli to seal, ensuring you smooth down around the filling to remove any air bubbles. Pinch the edges to seal, then sit each ravioli edge-side up, gathering and pinching the top joins slightly to gather in the pasta. Set aside
13
Pour some of the rabbit stock into a clean pan and reduce until it reaches a sauce consistency
14
In a separate pan, sauté the 100g of diced rabbit meat in a dash of oil until cooked through and golden. Warm through the beans and peas with oil and a pinch of salt
salt
100g of peas, podded
oil
100g of broad beans, blanched and shelled
15
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes, then drain
16
To serve, drizzle the cheese fondue on the plate and add a drizzle of rabbit sauce, carrot pâté, beans and peas. Lay in the ravioli, glistened with oil, and garnish with pieces of browned rabbit meat, oil and pea shoots
As one of Sicily’s most prominent chefs, Accursio Craparo puts the flavours of the east and west of the island centre stage at his eponymous Michelin-starred restaurant in Modica.
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