As a part of our wine tour by 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 type recent pasta.
What the girini are served with is determined by the season. Since we visited in spring, they had 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 friends really try and recreate it at dwelling. Naturally, I did.
The recipe instructs you to pour the batter by a colander, however the holes in mine had been too small. So, I used a strainer with bigger holes as a substitute.
Sadly, this didn’t yield well-formed girini and created fairly a multitude within the pot. I needed to discover one other resolution—which I did (see under).
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 believe the intention was to make use of equal weights of eggs (with out shells) and flour. That will end in a thicker, extra manageable batter—higher suited to forming girini.
Along with girini, the chef can be recognized for his artistic use of regionally foraged greens. In fact, the wild greens present in Friuli in Could aren’t out there right here, so I made a decision to make use of samphire (often known as sea asparagus) in its place. You possibly can 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 had been tender, I cooked them sous vide—whereas small items of fillet prepare dinner in seconds, leg meat can simply flip robust 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 decreased 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 lovely steadiness 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 recent oregano
- oregano flowers as garnish (optionally available)
- 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 straightforward to deal with.
Take away the meat from the bones—you may simply do that together 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 elements.
- If utilizing a inventory pot, cowl, convey to a boil, then cut back to a simmer and prepare dinner for 3 hours.
- If utilizing a stress cooker, cowl, convey to stress, and prepare dinner for 90 minutes.
Sieve the inventory utilizing a nice sieve, and discard the solids.
Pressure the inventory and pour it right into a broad, shallow pan. Carry 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. For those who’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 girinitype extra cleanly when cooked.
Add 200 grams of sifted Italian 00 flour to the overwhelmed eggs, or use the identical weight of flour because the eggs for higher consistency.
Beat…
…till you’ve 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 bit of kitchen twine tightly between the handles of a giant pot. Fill the pot midway with water, add salt, and produce it to a boil. Alter the warmth so the water maintains a gradual 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 so 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 shall 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 so far, all the things might be ready prematurely. From right here on, it solely takes a few minutes to complete and serve the dish.
Decide the flowers and leaves off the oregano stems. Use solely the tender elements, as they’ll add a recent, fragrant observe 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, 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 lightweight rosé—significantly one within the model of Provence—could be a wonderful match, providing freshness and delicate fruitiness. A structured white wine can even 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.
