Rabbit in Sweet-Sour Sauce (Sicily)

Meat

Ingredients

Rabbit, about 3 - 3 1/2 pounds, disjointed - 1

Olive oil - 2 1/2 tbsps

Butter - 4 tbsps

Fat salt pork, diced - small piece

Onion, finely chopped - 1

Flour

Salt and pepper

Stock - 2/3 cup

Sugar - 2 1/2 tbsps

Wine vinegar - 1/2 cup

Seedless white raisins  -4 tbsps

Pine nuts - 4 tbsps

Marinade:

Red wine - 2 cups

Onion, sliced - 1 small

Cloves - 2

Parsley - 1 sprig

Bay leaf - 1

Thyme - 1 sprig

Black peppercorns - 4-5

Salt

Wipe the rabbit clean. Put all the marinade ingredients into a small pan and slowly bring to the boiling point. Take from the heat immediately and leave it until just warm. Put the rabbit pieces into a bowl, pour over the marinade and leave for 2 hours.

Heat the oil, butter and salt pork together in a large casserole, and saute the onion until golden brown. Take the pieces of rabbit from the marinade, dry well, coat with flour and fry with the onion.

Strain the marinade over the rabbit and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes over a moderate heat. When the wine has almost evaporated and the rabbit has darkened, season with salt and pepper. Add enough hot stock or water to cover the rabbit pieces, cover the pan, lower the heat and simmer for another 20 minutes. If the sauce seems rather thin and the rabbit is already tender, cook quickly, uncovered to reduce it.

Dissolve the sugar in a small pan with 4 tsps water. When it begins to change color and becomes almost golden add the vinegar, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Add the white raisins and cook them for a moment to let them swell. Add the sauce to the casserole, pouring it over the rabbit pieces and scraping the bottom of the casserole. Stir in the pine nuts and seve immediately.

Serves 4