Rabbit (or hare) with red garlic dip

This is a traditional recipe and the specific version is coming from Sparta (yes, the famous one with the king Leonidas and his 300 brave soldiers...). The recipe, originally, demands for hare but when I first cooked it I could not find any so the rabbit was an excellent substitue. Rabbit, wild rabbit or hare cooked in this way is a recipe you can also find in other regions of Greece but here the difference is the way the garlic dip is prepared. If you decide to try this recipe (it would be a pitty if not!) you have to follow all the steps thoroughly and especially those regarding the garlic dip. I knew about this dish for years and years but never had the chance to find the recipe until I came across through a great Greek food blog called "Pandespani" (more direct links to it bellow the photo). I hope you'll enjoy this recipe as much as we did!!

The original recipe (along with this and other photos)
can be found in the great Greek food blog "http://www.pandespani.com/",

where you can also find many other delicious recipes (in English as well )

About the preparation: Both the garlic dip and the rabbit can be completely cooked the day before you need to serve and kept in the fridge without destroying anything regarding the food's freshness or taste. On the contrary that will help the flavours to blend together even better. You can take the food out of the fridge and let it settle at room temperature and then warm it up well in low heat.

Ingredients (for 6-8 people):
1 rabbit (about 2Kg), cut in portions (or hare)
1/2 a tea-cup of olive oil
4 big ripe tomatoes, peeled and grated
water
salt
black peppercorns
3/4 tea-cup of garlic dip (recipe follows)
12-16 walnuts, cut in halves and quarters for garnishing

For the marinade:
3 tea-cups of rosé wine
1 tea-cup of plain vinegar
1 tbsp of whole black peppercorns

For the garlic dip:
1 whole head of garlic, peeled
750gr. of walnuts, finely chopped
4 slices of stale white bread (no crust), soaked in water and squeezed very well
1-1,5 tea-cup from the tomato sauce the rabbit will cook in
1/3 tea-cup of cooking oil
1/3 tea-cup of red wine vinegar
salt
pepper

Method:
In a large bowl put the rabbit and the rest of the marinade ingredients. Leave in the fridge to marinate for at least 12 hours. Take the rabbit out of the marinade and pat dry with kitchen paper.

In a large pot warm the oil in medium- high heat, add the rabbit and sauté for 2-3 minutes to brown on all sides. Depending on the size of the pot you might need to do this in two (or even three batches) so the oil will need to remain hot all the time. Every time transfer the sautéed pieces on a plate and continue with the next lot.

When all done, transfer back into the pot. Add the tomatoes, enough water to almost cover the meat, season with salt and add the peppercorns. When the food comes to the boil turn the heat down to low, cover with the lid and simmer for 1,5 hours.

In the meantime, prepare the garlic dip. Discard the inner green little germ (sprout) and mash the garlic cloves. Put in a bowl along with the bread, the chopped walnuts, the oil and the vinegar.

Add 1 tea-cup of the tomato sauce from the pot (or a bit more), salt and pepper and stir well until you have a well blended mixture. *** You should add the tomato sauce slowly, while stirring, because the sauce will be responsible for the final density of the dip. The garlic dip should not be runny and thin at all and the texture will be lightly coarse because of the bread. Transfer the garlic dip into a serving bowl.

Get 3/4 of a tea-cup of the garlic dip and add it into the pan with the rabbit. Gently stir the food with a spoon (or gently shake the pot in a circular motion), so the garlic dip will blend nicely with the rabbit without the meat pieces falling apart. Leave the food to come to the boil and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Serve on hot plates, first placing a generous layer of the tomato sauce and then one piece of meat on top of it. Next to them serve a few generous dollops of the garlic dip garnishing on top with the halved walnuts.

Serve the rest of the garlic dip separately in its bowl.