Stuffat tal-Fenek

This is a traditional Maltese stew of rabbit meat. This dish is cooked for a long time (hours) so that the meat can separate from the bones and become entwined in a rich sauce made of tomatoes, red wine and onions.

The star of the dish, as the name implies, is rabbit. Slow-cooked rabbit slices are combined with red wine, garlic, onions, carrots, potatoes, and tomato purée in a saucepan. To improve and refresh the flavor, traditional Maltese herbs are added to the soup. As a main entrée, a slow-cooked rabbit stew is served with potatoes and veggies. However, the flavor does not end there. To make a superb pasta appetizer, Maltese cooks combine the same rich tomato sauce used in the stew with spaghetti.

Because this is a social dinner, most Maltese cook a huge stew with two or three rabbits. Given the finicky joints of rabbit, you'll need that many to provide a reasonable quantity each person. When you order a rabbit from the butcher, it comes complete with head (eyes) and everything. The liver, and occasionally the kidneys as well, are pulled out of the stew and served over spaghetti and generous ladles of the thickened sauce as a first dish. The primary dish is the stew, which is typically served with roast potatoes sprinkled with fennel seeds and crusty Maltese bread.