The roast rabbit is a very simple and quick recipe to prepare and it’s perfect any time of the year when you want to bring the family together at the table, both young and old. How wonderful to see the happiness in their eyes as they savor a delicious and truly tasty meal. For this version, since it’s summer, I decided to enhance the flavor not just with the usual spices but by adding plenty of wild fennel.
So here’s the recipe for making roast rabbit with fennel.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
- Energy 165.57 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 0.10 (g) of which sugars 0.02 (g)
- Proteins 20.20 (g)
- Fat 9.42 (g) of which saturated 3.37 (g)of which unsaturated 5.16 (g)
- Fibers 0.02 (g)
- Sodium 177.18 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 200 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 1 whole rabbit, raw
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 7 oz rolled pancetta (Optional)
- 1 thread extra virgin olive oil
- 1 bunch wild fennel
- 1 sprig rosemary
- A few leaves sage
- A few berries juniper berries
- 2 cloves garlic
Tools
- 1 Non-stick baking sheet
- 1 Thread
Steps
To start making roast rabbit with fennel, after cleaning and eviscerating it, I filled the belly with two cloves of garlic in their skins, plenty of wild fennel, sage, and a few sprigs of rosemary.
After filling it with spices, I tied it with kitchen twine and placed it for length convenience in a baking pan where I covered it with white wine, other spices, and a few juniper berries.
I’ll marinate it for at least 6 hours in the fridge.
Although the rabbit is already a tender meat and has been marinated for 6 hours in white wine, I decided to completely cover it with rolled pancetta to make it even softer on the surface and to create a visually more appealing crust with the fat that has melted on the surface.
Just as I covered it with pancetta, I placed it in a large enough baking pan and together with a mix of spices, garlic, and juniper berries, I browned it for a few minutes on each side to melt it and brown the rabbit.
As soon as the rabbit begins to turn golden on the surface, I add a glass of dry white wine and wait for the alcohol to evaporate before baking.
To finish, after preheating the oven to 350°F I cooked the rabbit for about 55 minutes, basting it occasionally with the juices created by the pancetta and the rabbit meat.
In conclusion, if you want to serve the rabbit with roasted potatoes, you can add them halfway through cooking by boiling them briefly beforehand.
The roast rabbit with fennel is ready and bon appétit from Dadcook!
Ask me a question
Does the rabbit have to be whole?
No, absolutely not. You can cut the rabbit before or after cooking, but the marinating and cooking process remains the same.
Can I make it without pancetta?
Yes, certainly, pancetta is just an optional extra to add to the roast rabbit with fennel recipe.
