Rabbit is a commonly used meat in Italy. Most families in the country keep rabbits as well as hens, consequently they are eaten as often as poultry. Rabbits raised at home along with the poultry have none of the gamey flavour that wild Irish rabbits have and taste a lot closer to white meats like veal or chicken. When I begin with a wild rabbit, I would add a level of preparation that is unnecessary with a farm-reared rabbit. I piece it into quarters and then leave it for a day covered in milk. When you throw away the milk you will also throw away a large part of the gamey flavours, which makes the meat a more popular dish.

There is no way around the second part of the preparation which is to cook the rabbit pieces for twenty minutes in a pressure cooker with enough water to just cover it, a quartered onion and a roughly chopped carrot. After cooking throw away everything except the rabbit.

Dry the rabbit and coat the pieces with seasoned flour. Now heat an oiled frying pan until the oil is hot and put in the rabbit turning as it browns. When all the pieces have been seared turn the heat down, add a glass of wine, cover the pan and let it cook slowly for an hour. If it looks as though it is drying up add another splash of wine. This is commonly flavoured with garlic and rosemary.

Another way to prepare rabbit allowing for other peoples' sensibilities is to make a pie. Steep the pieced rabbit in milk as described above and then, with a sharp knife, remove the meat from the bone. This is a little tedious, but worth it. Chop the meat into small cubes and add to it an equal amount of chopped collar of bacon. Chop up an equal quantity again of field mushrooms or cultivated flats. Fry it all together slowly on a low heat, stirring occasionally. Now make enough bechamel to cover the quantity of meat you have prepared. When the meat is cooked ( it will cook quickly since it is in small pieces) fill an oven dish with it and add the bechamel, stirring until all the meat and mushrooms are covered. If you have sauce left over don't be tempted to use it up - just use enough to cover and bind. Put a pastry topping on the dish and place it in the oven. Only the pastry needs to cook, the rest needs only to stay hot, so once again you have a dish that will keep until it is needed.