Rabbit with Squash

Rabbit with Squash

Local and naturally raised rabbits can be purchased in the Winnipeg area from Zinn Farms at ZinnFarms.com. 
Rabbit is also available from local natural sources from DeLuca's on Portage Ave. in Winnipeg.
How to cut a Rabbit?

This morning I had the pleasure of presenting the following rabbit dish on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with host Ismaila Alfa.  Enjoy!

This is an old recipe -- the combination of sweet and savoury is relatively rare in modern Italian cooking -- but will be very nice in the winter months, especially if it is cold out. Although the recipe calls for rabbit, but you could use -- if you had to -- chicken.
Prep Time: 0 hour, 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Ingredients:
• 1 rabbit skinned and chopped into pieces
• 3/4 pound (350 g) squash pulp (a squash along the lines of zucca gialla, or butternut squash)
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 quart (1 liter) dry red wine
• A sprig of rosemary
• 2 bay leaves, crumbled
• A sprig of sage
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
• 2 cloves
• A bunch of parsley
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) dry white wine
• 2/3 cup (120 g) unsalted butter
• A pinch each sugar and powdered cinnamon
• Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Wash and pat the rabbit pieces dry and return them to the bowl. Pour the red wine over the rabbit, and add the bay leaves, the garlic, the sage, the rosemary, the cloves, a few peppercorns, and a few leaves of parsley. Cover the bowl and let it stand in the refrigerator over night.

The next day, when you're ready to cook the rabbit, which will be much more tender thanks to the marinade, plump the raisins in the white wine for 20 minutes, and drain them well. Coarsely chop the almonds, and put them in a bowl with a pinch each of sugar and cinnamon, a goodly dash of pepper, and the drained raisins.

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or earthenware pot, and brown the rabbit, turning the pieces so they color on all sides. Meanwhile, filter the marinade. Once the meat has browned, sprinkle it with a ladle of marinade. Cook until about half the liquid has evaporated, then stir in the almond mixture, cover, and simmer for an hour.

Dice the squash, stir the pieces into the rabbit, and continue cooking for 20 minutes more. This dish is very good over polenta.