As a part of our wine tour by means of Friuli, we had dinner at La Subida Trattoria al Cacciatore. The chef’s specialty is girini—his interpretation of a standard native dish made by letting pasta batter drip into boiling water to kind contemporary pasta.
What the girini are served with relies on the season. Since we visited in spring, they have been accompanied by rabbit, wild greens gathered from blooming fields, and cherry tomatoes. The recipe was supplied with the dish. I’m wondering what number of visitors really try to recreate it at house. Naturally, I did.
The recipe instructs you to pour the batter by means of a colander, however the holes in mine have been too small. So, I used a strainer with bigger holes as an alternative.
Sadly, this didn’t yield well-formed girini and created fairly a large number within the pot. I needed to discover one other resolution—which I did (see beneath).
I additionally discovered the batter a bit too skinny. The recipe requires 4 eggs and 150 grams of flour, however it doesn’t specify the scale of the eggs. I think the intention was to make use of equal weights of eggs (with out shells) and flour. That might lead to a thicker, extra manageable batter—higher suited to forming girini.
Along with girini, the chef can be recognized for his inventive use of domestically foraged greens. In fact, the wild greens present in Friuli in Might aren’t out there right here, so I made a decision to make use of samphire (also called sea asparagus) instead. You could possibly additionally use child inexperienced asparagus or one other sort of inexperienced that provides a little bit of crunch to the dish.
As an alternative of utilizing rabbit fillet, I opted for rabbit legs. To make sure they have been tender, I cooked them sous vide—whereas small items of fillet prepare dinner in seconds, leg meat can simply flip powerful if not dealt with fastidiously. This technique additionally gave me the added bonus of flavorful juices within the sous vide bag, together with the bones. By no means one to waste taste, I used the bones and juices to make a wealthy inventory, which I then diminished right into a deeply flavorful rabbit gravy. This added each depth and creaminess to the ultimate dish.
I used to be very pleased with the ultimate consequence. It was unmistakably nation cooking, but carried an elegant refinement—a good looking stability of rustic custom and considerate approach.
Substances
Serves 4 as primo piatto
- 2 rabbit legs, about 500 grams (1.1 lbs)
- 250 grams cherry tomatoes
- 125 grams samphire (or child inexperienced asparagus)
- 70 grams (5 Tbsp) butter
- 4 sprigs of contemporary oregano
- oregano flowers as garnish (non-obligatory)
- parmigiano reggiano flakes
- salt and freshly floor black pepper
- 4 eggs
- about 200 grams (1 1/3 cups) of Italian 00 flour
- for the inventory: 1 carrot, 1 celery stick, 1/2 onion, chopped
Directions
Season the rabbit legs with salt, vacuum seal them…
…and prepare dinner them sous vide for 8 hours at 74C/165F.
Pour the juices from the sous vide bag right into a inventory pot or stress cooker, and set the rabbit legs apart to chill till they’re simple to deal with.
Take away the meat from the bones—you may simply do that along with your fingers, because the meat ought to fall proper off. Set the bones apart to make use of for making the inventory.
Chop the bones in half utilizing a cleaver—this helps launch the wealthy flavors from contained in the bones, making your inventory much more intense and fragrant.
Place the chopped bones right into a inventory pot or stress cooker, together with chopped carrot, celery, and onion.
Add simply sufficient water to barely cowl the components.
- If utilizing a inventory pot, cowl, deliver to a boil, then cut back to a simmer and prepare dinner for 3 hours.
- If utilizing a stress cooker, cowl, deliver to stress, and prepare dinner for 90 minutes.
Sieve the inventory utilizing a wonderful sieve, and discard the solids.
Pressure the inventory and pour it right into a extensive, shallow pan. Convey it to a boil, then cut back the warmth to a simmer. Let it cut back, uncovered…
…till you’re left with about 120 ml (½ cup) of wealthy rabbit gravy.
In the meantime, put together the girini batter. Crack 4 eggs right into a bowl. In the event you’re aiming for a extra exact consistency, weigh the eggs (with out shells) and use an equal weight of flour—this helps make sure the batter isn’t too skinny.
Beat the eggs utilizing a hand whisk or a balloon whisk fitted to a stand mixer, till clean and barely frothy. Then let the batter relaxation for about 10 minutes to permit any air bubbles to dissipate. This may assist the girinikind extra cleanly when cooked.
Add 200 grams of sifted Italian 00 flour to the crushed eggs, or use the identical weight of flour because the eggs for higher consistency.
Beat…
…till you could have a clean, lump-free batter.
Switch the batter right into a piping bag and let it relaxation for about quarter-hour.
In the meantime, tie a chunk of kitchen twine tightly between the handles of a big pot. Fill the pot midway with water, add salt, and produce it to a boil. Regulate the warmth so the water maintains a gentle however not overly vigorous boil. Place a big bowl of chilly water subsequent to the pot. As soon as the batter has rested, squeeze small drops of it from the piping bag, utilizing the twine to chop them off in order that they fall into the boiling water.
As quickly because the girini float to the floor, scoop them out…
…and switch them to the bowl of chilly water to cease the cooking.
When all of the batter has been used, drain the girini in a colander and set them apart till you’re able to serve.
Chop the rabbit meat into bite-sized items and put aside. These will probably be gently reheated simply earlier than serving to protect their tenderness.
Quarter the cherry tomatoes and set them apart. They’ll be added on the final second to protect their freshness and brightness.
Up thus far, all the things may be ready prematurely. From right here on, it solely takes a few minutes to complete and serve the dish.
Choose the flowers and leaves off the oregano stems. Use solely the tender elements, as they’ll add a contemporary, fragrant be aware to the completed dish.
Soften 70 grams of butter in a big frying pan over medium warmth.
Add the chopped rabbit meat, oregano leaves…
…and 125 grams of samphire.
Stir gently for only a minute over medium warmth.
Add the girini, and stir for an additional minute.
Add the cherry tomatoes…
…and rabbit gravy.
Stir gently for a couple of minute, simply till all the things is warmed by means of, the samphire is barely tender however nonetheless crisp, and the cherry tomatoes have softened barely with out falling aside.
Serve instantly on preheated plates, garnished with flakes of Parmigiano Reggiano and oregano flowers, if utilizing.
Wine pairing
This elegant dish requires a wine that enhances its delicate flavors with out overpowering them. A light-weight rosé—significantly one within the fashion of Provence—can be a wonderful match, providing freshness and refined fruitiness. A structured white wine may work fantastically, so long as it doesn’t have dominant vanilla notes from new oak. A purple wine is feasible, however it could be difficult to search out one mild sufficient to not overshadow the dish’s subtlety.
