Ischia-style Rabbit →

Ischia is an island off of Naples, Italy. With an abundance of wild rabbits, the island is famous for its rabbit dishes. This recipe is adapted from chef Andrea Migliaccio’s recipe for Ischia-style Rabbit. It would also work well substituting chicken legs and thighs for the rabbit. This is an easy delicious recipe that epitomizes the magic created when you combine simple ingredients like fresh herbs, shallots, garlic, broth, and white wine. Buon Appetito!

Ischia-style Rabbit
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 2 rabbits cut into pieces (or one chicken leg and thigh per person)

• 1 bulb of garlic, cut in half

• 1 ¾ cup of shallots, sliced

• 1 chili, cut in half length-ways (I used ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes)

• 2 cups + 3 tablespoons of white wine

• 2 cups + 3 tablespoons of chicken or vegetable stock

• 1 cup of tomatoes (about 3-4 plumb tomatoes quartered)

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 bunch of parsley, roughly chopped

• 1 bunch of basil, roughly chopped (reserve a few leaves whole for garnish)

• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
1. Using a cleaver or heavy butcher knife, cut the rabbits into pieces: the shoulders, ribs, loins, and hind legs. Discard the liver, heart, and other organs or save them for another use. Season all of the pieces with salt and pepper and dust lightly with a little flour.

2. Working in batches, sauté the rabbit pieces with a little olive oil in a skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat, adding more oil as necessary until all the pieces are golden brown. When all the pieces are browned, tent and set the rabbit to one side and discard the oil from the pan.

3. Add another tablespoon of olive oil and add the garlic, shallots, and chili (red pepper flakes). Cook, stirring occasionally for a few minutes over medium-high heat until the shallots are golden. Don’t burn the pan.

4. Deglaze the pan with the white wine scraping up the browned pieces in the pan. After about 2-3 minutes, add the tomatoes and the chicken/vegetable stock. Bring to a boil over medium to high heat.

5. Add the chopped parsley and basil and continue to cook over med-high heat for 10 minutes.

6. Add the reserved pieces of rabbit in a single layer to a roasting pan, pour the sauce over the rabbit, and roast in the oven for about 45 minutes. The sauce will thicken and the rabbit will turn golden brown.

7. Adjust the salt and pepper to your taste and serve garnished with fresh basil leaves.

Note: this dish pairs well with buttered potatoes and parsley and green beans sauteed with garlic, red pepper flakes, and lemon zest.

Wine pairing: full-bodied white wines like Verdicchio or Tiberio Pecorino; White Burgundy, or White Rhone wines; a dry Riesling would also work; lighter red wines like Beaujolais or Dolcetto di Alba are also a good match.

Adapted from: https://www.greatitalianchefs.com/recipes/rabbit-ischia-style-recipe
Andrea Migliaccio

Mediterranean Grilled Game Hens →

One of my most memorable meals was in Montreal when I was served a pan-seared and roasted game hen with a simple pan sauce of wine, garlic, and herbs. I had never tasted chicken like that and knew it had to become part of my kitchen repertoire. In truth, a Cornish Game Hen is nothing more than a variety of young chicken that is processed at about 5-6 weeks when it weighs between 1 ½ and 2 pounds. The French call such a bird “poussin”. The comparison between veal and beef, lamb and mutton, game hen, and chicken follows: the younger version of each is more tender with a more delicate flavor. This simple recipe for grilled game hen uses the classic Mediterranean flavors of olive oil, lemon, garlic, and rosemary processed into a flavorful paste that is spread over each bird. To complete the Mediterranean cooking experience, I served the hens accompanied with saffron fragrant yellow rice and a simple tomato avocado salad. A bottle of white Burgundy completed the experience. I could almost smell the Mediterranean, I was back.

Two game hens serves 4
Prepare the Game Hens:
Spatchcock the hens by cutting along both sides of the backbone with a pair of kitchen scissors or a sharp knife. Lay the bird spread open, bone-side down, and press down firmly to completely flatten the hen. This technique allows you to cook a whole bird in less time and yields more crispy skin. (See *Note below)

Marinate the Game Hens:
For the marinade paste:

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 1 tablespoon each of chopped fresh rosemary, parsley, and garlic

• 2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Process ingredients to smooth paste and spread over the bird. Marinate for a couple of hours in the fridge or better yet overnight.

Grill the Hens:

1. Preheat your grill to about 450 degrees.

2. Lightly oil the grill grates and grill the hens over indirect heat breast side down for about 10 minutes, or until lightly charred. Turn the hens over and grill for about 15 minutes longer, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh registers 160°. If necessary, you can finish browning and crisping the skin over direct heat for a minute or two.

3. Transfer the hens to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes, then cut them in half so each person is served half a hen.

Wine pairing: serve with a white Burgundy or white Cotes du Rhone, Chardonnay, Viognier, or softer not too minerally Sauvignon Blanc.

*Note: Cornish Game Hens can be had from your local butcher, or found frozen at your super-market. If you can’t find game hens the marinade works equally well on chicken.

Chicken Piccata with Shitake Mushrooms →

Satisfying, quick and easy, this briny-buttery-lemony-rich chicken recipe is a take on the classic dish Chicken Piccata but made a bit softer and less tangy with the addition of umami-rich shitake mushrooms and chicken stock instead of water. Serve over egg noodles or bow-tie pasta; a side vegetable or a green salad completes the meal.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts

• 3 ½ oz. shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

• Kosher salt

• black pepper

• ½ cup all-purpose flour

• 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided

• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• ⅓ cup dry white wine

• ½ cup chicken broth

• 1 teaspoon lemon zest (no bitter white pith)

• 1 Tbsp. drained capers, coarsely chopped

• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces

• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (or more to taste)

• Chopped parsley and lemon wedges (for serving)

Preparation:

1. Slice chicken breasts in half crosswise into 4 cutlets and lightly pound each piece between sheets of plastic wrap until an even thickness (about ½" thick or less). Season lightly with salt and pepper.

2. Place flour in a medium shallow bowl. Working one at a time, place cutlets in a bowl and toss to coat in flour. Knock off excess flour and transfer to a plate.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches if needed to avoid overcrowding the pan, cook cutlets, without moving them, until deeply browned underneath, about 2 minutes. Turn over and cook on the other side just until chicken is nearly cooked through, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a clean plate and tent with aluminum foil.

4. Add the shitake mushrooms and a tablespoon of oil to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat until the mushrooms release their water and begin to brown. Transfer to the same plate with the browned chicken.

5. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and sliced garlic to the skillet and cook, reducing the heat and stirring often until golden brown, keeping the garlic from scorching and becoming bitter. (about 2 minutes)

6. Add wine, lemon zest, and capers and cook, swirling pan and scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet, until liquid is almost completely evaporated. (about 3 minutes)

7. Add ½ cup chicken broth followed by the butter. Stir or swirl the pan vigorously while the butter melts to help it form an emulsion with the chicken stock. (about 1 minute)

8. Return chicken and mushrooms to the skillet with the sauce and simmer for about 2-3 minutes until chicken is cooked through and sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. Remove from heat and stir lemon juice into the sauce; season with salt starting with ¼ teaspoon and adding more to your taste. Transfer chicken and sauce to a platter and top with parsley; serve with lemon wedges.

*Note: choose a medium bodied white wine that is not too minerally and acidic. A soft white wine from the Loire Valley, a Viognier, or a lighter style Chardonnay that is not too full bodied and oaky will pair well with this dish.

Adapted from a recipe by Chris Morocco @ https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/chicken-piccata-2