Coniglio Fritto
Looking to get adventurous in the kitchen this weekend, why not test out this authentic Italian Conigilio Fritto recipe? That’s fancy Italian for: the most delicious, crispy rabbit you have ever tried. Served with a stunning Ghiotti green olive tapenade.
Farina’s Authentic Coniglio Fritto, ingredients:
1 small farmed rabbit, de-boned and diced
30 large Ghiotti green Sicilian olives, roughly chopped with pip removed
60g of capers
10 fillets of high quality anchovies chopped
2 small red chilli, roughly chopped
1 shallot, finely diced
25g fresh thyme, chopped
25g fresh rosemary, chopped
40g fresh Italian parsley, chopped
400g white flour
250ml fresh whole milk
3 whole lemons
Salt and pepper (to taste)
1.5 litres Olive oil or Sunflower oil
To Garnish:
6 Italian parsley tips
2 tablespoons tomato concasse (crushed or very finely diced)
How to make Coniglio Fritto:
- Mix the flour with the chopped rosemary and thyme, 25g of the chopped Italian parsley, zest of 1 lemon and salt and pepper. This will be used to dust the rabbit.
- Remove the pips and roughly chop the Ghiotti green Sicilian olives.
- Mix them with the capers, finely diced shallot, chopped anchovies, roughly chopped chilli and the zest of 2 lemons and put aside.
- In the meantime in a deep saucepan, heat up 1.5 litres of oil
- Soak the diced rabbit pieces in the milk. Dust them in the flour and herb mix, and fry in small batched.
- Fry the rabbit until it is crispy and golden, which should take 2 – 3 minutes.
- Remove the rabbit from the oil, and toss with salt and pepper.
To Serve:
- Traditionally in Italy, Coniglio Fritto is served on brown straw paper to absorb any extra oil but a large plate works to.
- Sprinkle the olive tapenade generously over the rabbit.
- Garnish with lemon wedges and the parsley tips.
About the recipe:
This recipe is from the head chef of Metro Top 50 restaurant Farina, Sergio Maglione. He loves his authentic fried rabbit with juicy Ghiotti green Sicilian olive tapenade.
And if you’re feeling a little thirsty, Sergio has also created the perfect Aperol Spritzer to wash it all down with. Try when you dine in at Farina, Ponsonby Road, Auckland.
