Brodi, minestre e zuppe

Method:

At the table

Hare gives this broth a more assertive flavour than poultry, with rosemary and bay lending a woodland fragrance. The cookbook also allows rabbit, a gentler alternative. This is a four-person recipe for a day when the pot can take its time: allow a 2-hour soak, 20 minutes of preparation and about 1 hour 25 minutes of cooking, including blanching.

Stories around the pot

The most telling custom in this recipe is what happens after the broth is strained: the meat becomes another dish. That small instruction reveals a whole approach to the table, where the first course and the next are planned together. Its interest lies in the cook’s resourcefulness, and in discovering how much a single pot can offer.

Before you start

Soak the cleaned hare in salted water for 2 hours in the refrigerator. Drain, then blanch for 10 minutes in a separate pot of plenty of water with the lemon cut in half. Drain again and discard this first cooking water.

At the stove

Prepare the carrot, onion and celery, keeping the celery leaves. Put them in a clean pot with the unpeeled tomatoes cut into quarters, parsley, rosemary and bay. Add 3 litres of water, a little salt and a few peppercorns. Simmer for 15 minutes, then add the well-drained hare and cook gently for about 1 hour, until tender.

Finish and serve

Strain the broth carefully and use it to cook small pasta or rice. The meat has another meal to give: remove the bones, break it into pieces and use it in a salad or a game pie. Taste the broth before serving; the herbs should accompany the hare’s flavour without burying it.