Tuscany (widespread in Chianti and Maremma areas)
The autumn pasta of the Tuscan hunting season: wide, rough-edged egg pappardelle with a slow-braised hare ragù. The whole hare is marinaded overnight in Chianti Classico with juniper, bay, and rosemary, then jointed and braised 2.5 hours in the marinade until the meat falls from the bone. The meat is shredded and returned to the reduced braising liquor. The sauce is wine-dark, gamey, deeply complex — nothing like a beef ragù. Pappardelle are the only suitable pasta form: wide enough to carry the weight of the sauce.
Wine-dark, gamey, richly mineral hare ragù on wide egg pasta — the Tuscan autumn hunt translated into a pasta dish of extraordinary depth and seasonal specificity
{"Overnight marinade (12 hours minimum) with Chianti, juniper, bay, carrot, celery, onion — the acid tenderises the notoriously tough hare","Brown the hare joints in lard in batches over very high heat before braising","Strain and reserve the marinade; add it to the braise in stages (not all at once, or it stays sharp)","Braise 2.5 hours minimum at low heat until the meat yields at a touch","Shred meat, return to sauce; reduce until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon"}
{"A tablespoon of dark chocolate grated into the sauce in the last 10 minutes (the Tuscan Dolceforte technique) rounds and deepens","The liver and heart added to the sauce in the last 15 minutes add another layer of depth","Rest the ragù overnight — the collagen from the bones sets the sauce to a sticky jelly that re-liquefies when reheated"}
{"Skipping the marinade — the hare's tough sinews and strong blood flavour require the overnight acid treatment","Using rabbit instead of hare — rabbit is milder and produces a completely different dish","Using too narrow pasta (spaghetti, tagliolini) — the sauce needs the width of pappardelle to cling to"}
La Cucina Toscana — Giuliana Bonomo