Title: Rabbit with Chives
Categories: Game Italian Main
Yield: 2 Servings

2	lb	Rabbit
1/2	c	Olive oil
1/2	c	Chopped fresh chives
1/2	c	Dry white wine
1/2	c	Sliced zucchini

Bone the rabbit and cut the meat in small pieces. Place in a bowl with the oil and 1/4 cup of the chives and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

When ready to cook, place the meat and the oil in which it has marinated in a large skillet. Cook over medium heat, turning and basting, for 30 minutes; do not brown. Add the wine, cover, and cook for 15 minutes longer. Uncover, add the zucchini and 1 tb. chives, and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until zucchini is tender and sauce is slightly reduced. Serve very hot, garnished with remaining chives.

The authors write: "Dania Luccharini has a passion for food, a passion she has been sharing for the past eight years with those who dine at the delightful restaurant she and her husband, Umberto, run in the Tuscan country. A former lawyer, Dania originally moved to the country with Umberto to restore an old family farm. Once the farmhouse was done, the couple found themselves with free time and energy and a desire to start something new. They bought a sprawling old stone farmhouse on a hill overlooking a Tuscan valley and opened La Chiusa.

"Dania has taken charge of the kitchen, and although she has no formal training as a chef, she does have an innate sense of good food, gleaned perhaps from time spent with friends like Roger Verge. Under her direction, La Chiusa's menu emphasizes local produce and authentic fare that has been updated but still reflects the flavors of Tuscany. 'The traditional way of cooking uses too much fat,' she says. 'I've lightened it up.'

"The olive oil that dresses salads is made in the old olive press the Luccharinis found in the basement, and overnight guests are offered La Chiusa's own honey and marmalade for breakfast. The herbs used in the kitchen come from a hillside garden below the terrace, supplemented by nepetela, the wild mint that grows throughout the region. Its subtle taste, a combination of mint and marjoram, is a traditional complement to porcini and artichokes. 'I use sage and rosemary more than any other herbs,' says Dania. 'I" can't cook without herbs, and I mix them. I pick a few fresh ones every morning. When you get them at the market they are not really fresh and their aroma is not as good.'"

From Dania Luccharini of La Chiusa restaurant/Tuscany, Italy in "Cooking with Herbs" by Emelie Tolley and Chris Mead. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1989. Pg. 249. Posted by Cathy Harned.

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