Rabbit ragù with tagliatelle

Ingredients

Rabbit ragù
1 rabbit, cleaned and deboned (yielding about 500g meat), finely chopped
45g of unsalted butter
30ml of extra virgin olive oil
100g of pancetta, minced
1 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 celery stick, finely diced
3 sage leaves
1 sprig of rosemary
180ml of dry white wine
480ml of vegetable stock
45ml of passata
15g of tomato purée
fine salt
freshly ground black pepper
To serve
5000g of Benedetto Cavalieri tagliatelle
100g of Parmesan, grated

Method

1. Heat the butter and oil in a large heavy-based pan set over a medium heat. Once hot, add the pancetta and pan-fry until browned and crisp, about 2 minutes
2. Next add the onion, carrot, celery, sage and rosemary and cook until the vegetables are very tender, 4–5 minutes, stirring often
3. At this point, stir in the chopped rabbit meat and increase the heat to medium-high. Brown it on all sides for about 5 minutes, then pour in the wine, stock, tomato sauce and purée. Once the sauce is simmering, reduce the heat to low and cover
4. Cook the ragù for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally and adding more stock if the liquid reduces too quickly. By the end you should have a red-blushed, thick sauce with meat that almost falls apart. Taste and adjust the seasoning; discard the sage and rosemary, remove from the heat and set aside

5. Next, bring a large pan of salted water to a rolling boil. Lower in the tagliatelle and cook for 10-11 minutes

6. Meanwhile, set the rabbit ragù back over a medium heat. When the pasta is ready, drain it and top with the ragù. Toss until any water has been absorbed and the pasta is well-coated with the sauce. Serve with a generous dusting of Parmesan