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

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Being a great fan of Duck, when I saw @emsfood post for Crispy Duck Breast with Red Curry Sauce, I knew I had to try the recipe. I’ve adapted the recipe to make the ingredients a bit more accessible substituting chicken thighs for the duck breasts, lemon zest for lemon grass, and a bay leaf and lime zest for the kaffir lime leaves. If you don’t like duck, or the cost of duck is prohibitive, chicken thighs are a good substitute in any recipe that calls for duck. If you can’t find Red Thai chiles, an acceptable substitute is Serrano or Jalapeño chile although neither is not as hot as the Red Thai chile. You can adjust the heat up by increasing the red curry paste to 1 1/2-2 tablespoons, or by adding an 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne powder at a time until you reach the desired spiciness. Remember it’s easier to add heat (spiciness) in small amounts than it is to take it away once added to a dish. If you can’t find a Red Thai chile, substituting a Serrano or Jalapeño chile for the Red Thai chile yields a curry sauce that is is very flavorful with mild heat. For lovers of duck recipes be sure to check out the link to @emsfood for Crispy Duck with Red Curry Sauce.

Crispy Chicken Thighs with Red Thai Curry Sauce
Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of peanut oil (or coconut oil or canola)
4 chicken thighs, skin on
2 teaspoons of Chinese 5 Spice Powder (available in the Asian foods aisle of the supermarket, or your local Asian foods market. See *Note)
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 tablespoon of grated ginger
zest from ½ lemon
1 tablespoon of red curry paste
14 ounce can of coconut milk (light if you prefer)
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
2 teaspoons lime zest
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 bay leaf
1 long red Thai chili, finely sliced (seeds removed optional; substitute 1 large Serrano chile)
1/2 cup of cilantro

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

To prepare the chicken thighs, pat the breasts dry with a paper towel. Place the 5 Spice and sea salt in a mortar and pestle and grind until the salt has broken down. Sprinkle evenly over the thighs and then rub in so they have a fine powdered coating. (Alternatively sprinkle with 5 Spice and then salt and rub in.) Set aside.
Heat a medium-sized saucepan, add a tablespoon of oil and lightly fry the ginger and one-third of the chile. Add the curry paste and fry for a further 60 seconds before pouring in the coconut cream. Season with the fish sauce, lemon zest, bay leaf, lime zest, lime juice, and brown sugar and stir well to combine. Allow to simmer on a very low heat for 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally.
Heat a large oven-proof fry-pan (cast iron) slowly until it is really hot and add a tablespoon of oil. Place the thighs skin side down and fry for 3-5 minutes until the skin is golden brown and beginning to get crispy. Turn skin-side up and fry for another 3-5 minutes.
Place in the oven skin-side down for 5 minutes; turn-over and cook in the oven skin-side up for 5 minutes. (or until an insta-read thermometer reads 160-165)
Plate and spoon over the sauce and garnish with chopped cilantro; lime wedges are optional.

Serve with steamed rice and sauteed baby bok choy, broccoli, or veggie of choice.

Wine Pairing: serve with an off-dry wine like a dry Riesling, Chenin Blanc (Vouvray), or Gewürztraminer

Adapted from: https://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/crispy-duck-with-red-curry-sauce/

*Note: 5 Spice Powder Recipe:
Yield ¼ cup
Ingredients:
• 6 Star Anise pods
• 1 ½ teaspoons whole cloves
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons fennel seeds
• 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns (or sub 3 teaspoons regular peppercorns)

Instructions: Place all ingredients in a spice grinder (or coffee grinder) and grind until smooth.

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Ischia-style Rabbit →

Crispy Chicken with Red Thai Curry →