If you’ve been reading my blog over the past few weeks you might have noticed my recent obsession with rabbit. And as someone who likes to use every part of the animal that I can, my recipes try to take advantage of that. This saddle of rabbit with pasta arrabbiata is a great way to use the loin and still make a filling meal.
If you are making recipes like a rabbit leg braised in sauce, or even this saddle recipe, you’re likely looking for recipes to use the other parts so nothing goes to waste. Or, you could just make a rabbit stew and use the whole thing for a fantastic comfort dish instead.
What Is A Saddle Of Rabbit?
When most people think of eating rabbit it is most likely the hind legs. After all, they are the most desirable part. The saddle, or loin, is the region in between the hind legs and the rib cage. If you’re worried about breaking down your own whole rabbit, I’ve written an easy guide to help you.
Some people like to cook the saddle still attached to the bone, but for the sake of presentation I wanted to cut them off. From then it’s just a simple sear to get some browning.
Cooking The Saddle Of Rabbit
In a pan with a bit of olive oil on medium high heat add the loins and brown all sides. They will curve as they tighten but it’s not a problem. Then pop the whole pan (oven safe) into an oven preheated to 190 Celsius for 6 minutes. Rabbit legs usually need a long time to get tender, but the saddle is great because it cooks quickly while still being tender.
While I’m searing the rabbit I’m also boiling some pasta in salted water. Here I use mafaldine pasta, which is the same I used as the base for my rabbit ragu with mafaldine recipe. To make the sauce just combine a half cup of crushed tomatoes with some salt, garlic powder, dry oregano, freshly cracked black pepper, and your desired amount of red chili flakes. An arrabbiata is supposed to be spicy, but I’ll leave the chili measurement up to you.
Because I use garlic powder in the sauce instead of fresh, I wanted to add some roasted garlic to the mix. I had leftovers after making roast bone marrow, so I just popped a few whole cloves into the pasta. Don’t worry, they are not strong at all, almost caramelized in taste.
Just give everything a good mix. The rabbit should be done and resting for at least 5 minutes, so when the pasta is finished you can slice the saddle into bite size pieces and serve. Enjoy your saddle of rabbit with pasta arrabbiata!
Note: If you don’t want to make a spicy sauce, try my post for Spago’s red sauce. It’s great with so many past dishes!
Saddle of rabbit with pasta arrabbiata
Equipment
- Pan (oven proof)
- Knife
- Pot
Ingredients
- 100 grams Rabbit two loins removed from the spine
- 100 grams Pasta I used mafaldine but you can use whatever pasta you prefer
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 cup Crushed Tomatoes
- 1 bulb Garlic roasted (optional)
- 1 tsp Black Pepper freshly cracked
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Oregano dry
- Salt to taste
- Red Chili Flakes to taste
Instructions
- Lightly salt the rabbit loins and then sear on medium high heat in a pan with a bit of olive oil. Pop the pan into the oven at 190Celsius for 6 minutes. While you are making the rabbit you can boil the pasta and cook the sauce.
- To make the sauce combine the tomatoes with the garlic, black pepper, oregano, salt, and red chili flakes. Stir around on a pan on medium heat until well combined. When the rabbit is done, remove it from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Move over the pasta bringing with it a bit of the starchy pasta water and give everything a good mix. Taste for seasonings and adjust to suit your preferences. Add in the whole roasted cloves of garlic and lightly mix.
- Slice the saddle of rabbit into bite size pieces and plate. You can get fancy, or just mix everything together…up to you. Enjoy!
