First things first: get some fennel! This plant - wild or otherwise - is of particular importance in the cookery of the Marches. Its unique odour gives dishes a special taste. The chopped leaves of wild fennel is the key ingredient. You gather the tops of the plant when in full flower and hang them upside down to dry. When they are dry, the flowers are made to pass through a vegetable mill. The yellow powder which is so obtained is used to flavour black olives, vegetables cooked au gratin or stuffing for a number of different recipes, including this one, called Coniglio in porchetta (porchetta style rabbit with fennel).
INGREDIENTS
One rabbit, 400 g wild fennel, 3 cloves of garlic, 200 g of pigskin, 150 g bacon, rabbit liver and giblets, salt and pepper to taste.
PREPARATION
Clean a rabbit, cut it open lengthwise, sprinkle it with salt and pepper both inside and outside. Prepare the stuffing: put fennel leaves in a saucepan of cold water, bring to boil and let cook for about 5 minutes. Drain, squeeze and chop the leaves finely. Chop bacon into cubes, toss into pan, add the garlic cloves, the fennel, the chopped pigskin with its fat removed and the rabbit giblets. Season with salt and pepper and finish off the cooking. Remove garlic and let cool off. Stuff the rabbit, tie it up carefully, put it in a baking tray, pour some olive oil and cook in hot oven. Roast it for about an hour (depending upon size and age it may require longer), basting it occasionally with the reserved fennel water and turn the rabbit so as to cook it evenly. After about 45 minutes, remove the string, cut the rabbit in pieces and slice up the stuffing. Serve hot.
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