RABBIT CON SALSICCIA, ROASTED GARLIC, LEMON, AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• If you are making the stock, adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Place the rabbit bones and the leek, onion, and carrot on a baking sheet and roast, shaking the pan occasionally for even cooking, until they're evenly browned, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer the bones and vegetables to a large stockpot. Add the chicken stock to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat, skimming off the foam that rises to the top. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour, skimming as needed. Remove the stock from the heat, pour it through a fine-mesh strainer, and discard the contents of the strainer. Use the stock, or set it aside to cool to room temperature, transfer it to an airtight container, and refrigerate for up to three days.
• To prepare the rabbit legs, place the legs in a nonreactive baking dish large enough to fit them in a single layer and season them all over with the salt. Set the legs aside at room temperature to cure for 1 1/2 hours. Rinse the rabbit legs and the baking dish, wipe the legs and the dish dry, and return the legs to the dish. Pour the milk in the dish, adding more if necessary to cover the rabbit legs. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place the legs in the refrigerator for 1 hour. (Soaking the rabbits in milk desalinates them.) Remove the legs from the refrigerator, and remove them from the milk. Discard the milk, rinse the rabbit legs under water, and pat them dry with paper towels.
• To make the sausage, place the rabbit loins and bellies in a nonreactive baking dish or a sealable plastic bag and season with the pepper, sugar, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Cover the dish with plastic wrap or seal the plastic bag and place the rabbit in the refrigerator to cure, at least 3 hours or overnight.
• One hour before you are ready to complete the sausage, place the rabbit loins and bellies and the pancetta in the freezer to chill. (This makes the meats easier to pass through the meat grinder.) Fill a large bowl with ice water and have a small bowl ready to set inside. Fit a meat grinder with a small die. Remove the rabbit and pancetta from the freezer and pass them together through the grinder into the smaller bowl. Place the bowl with the meat inside the bowl of ice and set aside to chill while you prepare the rest of the ingredients for the sausage.
• Combine the oil, minced onion, garlic, and rosemary needles in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat and sauté until the onion and garlic are soft and translucent but not browned, about 5 minutes, stirring constantly and adding a splash of water to the pan from time to time to prevent the onion and garlic from browning. Remove the bowl with the rabbit and pancetta from the ice water, reserving the ice water for dipping your hands into, and add the contents of the sauté pan to the smaller bowl. Season with the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, pepper, and nutmeg and stir gently until the ingredients are combined. Add 2 tablespoons of the ice water and mix the meats and vegetables with your hands, adding more ice water, if necessary, to make the mixture sticky and tacky. Dip your hands in the bowl of ice water to prevent the meat from sticking to your fingers. Pick up a 1 1/2-ounce portion and mold it into a 1-inch-thick patty. Place the patty on a baking sheet or plate and repeat with the remaining meat. (The sausages can be prepared to this point up to five days in advance. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate the sausages until you are ready to braise them, or freeze for up to several months.)
• To cook the rabbit legs, adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or high-sided, ovenproof sauté pan over medium-high heat until the oil is almost smoking and slides easily in the pan, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the rabbit legs to the pan in a single layer, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes on the first side, until they are golden brown. (If you do not have a pan large enough to fit all of the legs, cook them in two batches, cooking all of the hind legs in one batch and the forelegs in another batch and adding more olive oil to the pan in between batches, if necessary.) Turn the rabbit legs and cook them for 2 minutes on the other side. Remove the legs to a plate and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the celery, carrot, leek, and sliced onion and sauté for about 2 minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the garlic cloves and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and softened. Add the wine, increase the heat to high, and cook until it reduces by half, about 10 minutes. Return the rabbit legs, nestling them in a single layer in the pan and place the rosemary and chile on top. Alternatively, if your pan is not large enough to hold all of the legs, pour the contents of the pan into a baking dish large enough to hold them in a single layer. Gradually add the stock to just cover the rabbit. If you have industrial-strength plastic wrap, which won't melt in the oven, cover the pan or baking dish tightly with plastic wrap. In either case cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and put the lid on the pot if it has one. Place the rabbit in the oven to braise for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours, until the meat is fork- tender and the joints move easily, checking for doneness after 1 hour. Remove the rabbit legs from the oven, remove the lid, and remove and discard the foil and plastic, if you used it, being careful not to burn yourself with the steam that will rise from the pan. Set the rabbit aside to cool in the braising liquid for at least 30 minutes. You can prepare the rabbit to this point up to five days in advance. Cool the rabbit in the braising liquid to room temperature. Cover the pot with plastic wrap or transfer the rabbit with the liquid to an airtight container and refrigerate until you are ready to serve it.
• To finish the rabbit, if it is still warm from the braising liquid, heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high until the oil is almost smoking and slides easily in the pan, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sausages and cook them about 1 minute on each side, until they are golden brown. Remove the sausage to a plate lined with paper towels and drain the oil from the pan, leaving just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Add the garlic, rosemary sprig, and red pepper flakes, and sauté for about 2 minutes, until the garlic is golden brown and slightly caramelized. Add the rabbit legs and 1 cup of the reserved rabbit stock or chicken stock. Increase the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil. Turn off the heat, stir in the lemon zest strips, and place the pan in the oven, uncovered, until the meat is heated through, about 12 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and remove the sausage from the pan. Place the pan over high heat, spooning the sauce over the rabbit as it cooks, until the sauce is thick and gravy-like and has reduced by about half, 7 to 9 minutes. Add the sausage back to the sauce to warm it from the residual heat in the pan.
• If you have prepared the rabbit in advance and are rewarming it, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the rabbit in the braising liquid in the oven about for 20 minutes, basting it with the sauce occasionally, until it is warmed through. Cook the sausage and sauce as directed above.
• To serve, pile the cavolo nero in the center of each plate, dividing it evenly. Nestle one rabbit leg on each mound of the cavolo and rest the other leg against the first at a perpendicular angle. Place one sausage patty on either side of each serving of rabbit and lay the garlic cloves and rosemary sprig on top. Spoon the sauce over the rabbit, dividing it evenly.
• suggested wine pairing
• Chianti Classico (Tuscany)