Rabbit in Wine Sauce Pizza

[Recipes Index] [World of Chefs]

Ingredients:

For the Pizza Dough:

• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 packet of active dry or fresh yeast
• 3/4 cup warm water at 105 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit
• 2 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil for dough mixture and additional for greasing bowl

For the Topping:

• 6 small leeks
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil to toss with the leeks
• 6 servings of rabbit, skinned, de-boned and cut up
• Flour for dredging
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons of Romeu extra virgin olive oil to cook the rabbit
• 3 cups shredded Fontal cheese
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed and pressed - optional

For the sauce:

• 3 tablespoons of Romeu extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves crushed and minced
• 1 anchovy fillet, crushed
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh lemon thyme
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 cup full-bodied red wine

Preparation:

Pizza Dough:

Place a baking (or pizza) stone in the oven. (Preheating the oven will be done later).

Dissolve the yeast and the honey in a small bowl with 1/4 cup warm water. Set the bowl aside and let it rise for about ten minutes. In a kitchen mixer with the dough hook attachment, combine the flour and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the olive oil. When the yeast mixture has risen, add the yeast mixture and remaining warm water to the flour and knead on low speed until the dough easily pulls away from the bowl and the kneading process is finished. The dough texture should be smooth and elastic, but not sticky. If the dough sticks to the bowl or your fingers, add a tiny bit of flour and continue kneading until the desired texture is achieved. If the dough seems too hard and dry or if it crumbles, add a tiny bit of water to the kneading process until the dough becomes smooth and firm.

After kneading, transfer the dough to a bowl greased with extra virgin olive oil, cover with a damp towel and place the bowl in a warm, draft-free place for about one hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

After the dough has risen, place the dough on a wooden cutting board and divide the dough into six sections. Each section will be the base of a small individual pizza. Knead each section, form into the shape of a ball and cover with a damp towel for about 20 minutes. If necessary, the dough balls can be refrigerated in plastic wrap for a day before you are ready to make the pizzas.

After the dough has rested and risen again, place each ball of risen dough on a lightly floured surface. With a rolling pin or your hand, flatten each dough ball to make a circular pizza with the outer edge being slightly thicker than the center to prevent the pizza toppings from spilling out. Brush each pizza dough with olive oil before arranging the toppings. The oven should be preheated to 525 degrees Fahrenheit before use.

After the toppings are arranged on the pizzas, slide the pizzas onto a pizza paddle that has been dusted with cornmeal, which will enable the pizzas to slide off the paddle and onto the baking stone without sticking. We prefer to place the rolled-out pizza dough without toppings onto the cornmeal-covered pizza paddle before brushing the pizza with olive oil and before placing the toppings on the pizza because we find it easier to move a "fully loaded" pizza just once directly from the paddle into the oven and thereby avoiding the step of moving a full, uncooked pizza twice from the work board to the pizza paddle and then from the paddle into the oven.

After the toppings are placed on the pizzas, bake the pizzas on the baking stone in the preheated oven for approximately eight minutes. You will need to watch them carefully to not only ensure that the toppings are cooked and the cheese is melted, but that any sauces do not drip and that the pizzas do not overcook.

Pizza Dough Variations:

You can always add crushed garlic, and/or fresh herbs such as minced thyme or rosemary to the pizza dough recipe in order to harmonize the pizza bread with the toppings of your choice.

The Toppings:

Rinse the rabbit pieces in cold water and pat dry. Season the rabbit pieces with salt and pepper and dredge them in the flour, shaking off any excess. In a heavy skillet, add 4 tablespoons of olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add the rabbit pieces and cook until the flesh is no longer pink and the juices run. Remove the rabbit from the pan and wipe out the pan. Put 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in the pan and add the onion, celery, garlic, anchovy, lemon thyme, rosemary and sage. Stir and mix thoroughly. Continue cooking for about 4 minutes. Add the vinegar, turn up the heat to medium-high and let the mixture boil for 2 minutes. Add the wine and bring the liquid back to a boil for approximately 3 minutes. Lower the heat to simmer, stir well and return the rabbit to the saucepan. Continue cooking uncovered for about 20 minutes or until the liquid has reduced and the sauce thickens. Then remove the pan from the heat and let it cool.

Cut the leeks into julienne slices and transfer the slices to a bowl. Add salt and pepper and 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil, and toss. Reserve 1/2 cup of the leeks for garnish on the pizzas after they bake.

As per the recipe for Pizza Dough, brush each individual, flat, shaped, pre-cooked pizza dough with extra virgin olive oil. Then on each pizza, first put on a layer of cheese. At this point, you have the option of distributing the four crushed, pressed garlic cloves on the cheese layers of the pizzas before proceeding to the next step. Then arrange the julienne slices of the leeks on top of the cheese, except for the reserved 1/2 cup of leeks. Season to taste with salt and pepper. On top of the leeks, arrange cooked rabbit pieces and add some of the sauce. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the pizzas before baking.

After baking, remove the pizzas, arrange the reserved leek slices on the pizzas and serve while hot.