My daughter stirred the sauce, breaking each tomato in the hot pan, keeping it thick. For seasoning we added just a bit of fennel to the wine and chocolate, a last minute decision as my daughter smelled and rejected other herbs and spices. A quick sauce ladled over spaghetti, a beautiful balance of tastes.
The last time I opened an Ioppa 2001 Ghemme I wasn't impressed; tonight's was different, and the nebbiolo-dominated wine opened with cherries and violets, soft with leather-like tannins, graceful and still fresh. Cacciatore is known as hunter's stew, and the rabbit confit tasted better than most other meats would in the chocolate-and-wine-laced sauce, edible proof that raising rabbits in town is worth the effort.
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Wow, that sounds good.
ReplyDeleteThanks, it was good! We made it two nights in row, and made it with a lot of thyme on the first night. The chocolate and red wine was a fantastic addition, especially the chocolate. I've changed how I add wine to things in the past few years. Nowadays, I add it at the beginning, just after the garlic and onions and other minced things have sauteed, and reduce it quite a bit before adding the next ingredient, whatever it is. I like the flavor more and I like the modest amount of extra liquid, even when I add a lot of wine.
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