MY KITCHEN IN SPAIN: ON THE ROAD AGAIN

On the road again! Off to Ronda for lunch.

We drove to Ronda to meet some friends for lunch. It’s the first time I’ve been out of my own municipality since the beginning of the pandemic. Without thinking twice, I hugged the friend, shook hands with another. All of us vaccinated, hooray!

We lunched at Restaurante Pedro Romero, right across from the Ronda bull ring. We sat at tables inside, with table cloths and proper napkins. Although QR symbols were posted for consulting the digital menu, we happily made our selections from real menus. We took off our masks when the bottle of wine was opened (Los Cipreses, a Garnacha rosado from Ronda bodega, Huerto de la Condesa). We ate very well and sat talking over coffee until late in the day. Life seems almost normal.

Ronda is an inland mountain town, once known for its smugglers and bandoleros The road from the coast winds up through the steep hills of the newly proclaimed Parque Nacional Sierra de las Nieves, home to the Pinsapo fir tree, a remnant of the Pleistocene Age.

Rabo de toro at Pedro Romero restaurant.

Ronda is close enough to the sea to have fresh fish on the restaurant menu, but it’s especially known for its sierra cuisine—sturdy potages—some with wild greens such as tagarninas, thistles; small game such as partridge and rabbit; ibérico ham and fresh pork, and, in this town famous for its bullfighting (Antonio Ordoñez, et al.), rabo de toro, braised bull’s tail.

We started with ajo blanco, Málaga’s emblematic white gazpacho made with almonds and garlic and here served with smoked sardines instead of the usual grapes; morcilla, blood sausage, a Ronda specialty, accompanied by roasted red peppers, and a carpaccio of thinly sliced beef. Best of all was a plate of magnificent sliced tomatoes of the heirloom Castellano variety. They were sweet and juicy.

Here’s my rendition of the Cazuela de Conejo that I sampled in Ronda.

Pieces of rabbit are cooked in a sauce with wine. Spanish style, the rabbit is accompanied by fries and the first of the season's sliced tomatoes.

Aromatic rosemary, thyme, bay and cumin add flavor. I added a few small carrots for color (the rabbit cooked in less time than the carrots).

Rabbit is white meat, but the sauce is rich. Serve with a light, unoaked red or a crisp, cold rosado.

Rabbit in Cazuela

Cazuela de Conejo Estilo de Ronda

The rabbit’s liver thickens the sauce and deepens its flavor (chicken liver can be substituted). If you do not have liver or prefer not to use it, Use a slice of fried bread to thicken the sauce. Blend it with the fried garlic. Thin the sauce with additional water if it seems too thick. After cooking the rabbit, the sauce can be sieved or pureed in a blender, if desired. (I didn't; I like the texture of chopped onions, carrots and peppers in the sauce.)

In Ronda, the rabbit with its rich sauce is typically served with patatas fritas, fries, but rice goes nicely with it as well.

Cut rabbit in large pieces to avoid splintery bones.

1 rabbit, cut in serving pieces (2- 2 ½ pounds)

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

1 rabbit liver (2 ounces) or slice of bread

3 cloves garlic, peeled

Sprig of rosemary

1 cup chopped onion

¼ cup finely chopped green pepper

¼ cup diced carrot

2 medium tomatoes (1 cup grated pulp)

1 tablespoon pimentón (paprika, not smoked)

¼ teaspoon cumin

¼ teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper

½ cup white wine

1 ½ cups water

1 bay leaf

Sprig of thyme

Sprinkle the rabbit with salt and pepper and allow it to come to room temperature.

Heat half of the oil in a cazuela or heavy pan. Cut the liver into 4 pieces and fry it with the garlic cloves, turning, until they are browned on all sides. (If using bread instead of liver, fry it until golden on both sides.) Skim out the liver and garlics and place them in a blender.

Brown rabbit in oil.

Add the pieces of rabbit to the cazuela with the sprig of rosemary. Fry them on moderate heat, turning, until rabbit is browned on both sides. Remove the pieces of rabbit. Discard the rosemary.

Add remaining oil to the pan. Sauté the onion, green pepper and carrot until softened and beginning to brown, 5 minutes.

Grate tomatoes.

Meanwhile, grate the tomatoes and discard the skins. Stir the pimentón into the onion sofrito. Add the tomato pulp, cumin, cracked black pepper, ½ teaspoon salt and wine. Bring to a boil and simmer until the alcohol is cooked away.

Add 1 cup of water to the liver and garlic in the blender. Blend until smooth. Pour this mixture into the pan. Return the pieces of rabbit and their juices to the pan with the bay leaf and thyme. Add enough additional water to partially cover the rabbit.

Liquid partially covers the pieces of rabbit.

Bring to a boil, then lower heat so the liquid bubbles gently. Cook, uncovered, 15 minutes. Turn the pieces of rabbit in the sauce. Cook another 15 minutes or until the rabbit is tender when pierced with a fork. If sauce is very thick, add additional water.

Remove from heat and allow to set 5 minutes. Serve the rabbit and sauce in the cazuela or plate it.

More rabbit recipes:

Rabbit with Figs and Mudejar Spices.

Rabbit in Wine Marinade (Salmorejo).

Sheet Pan Rabbit with Garlic (al Ajillo).

Rabbit, Sierra Style.

Rice and Rabbit in a Skillet.

Notes from another visit to Ronda here.

Restaurante Pedro Romero, where we lunched in Ronda.

Lunch in Ronda with old friend, Gerry Dawes (left) and new friend, Tom Perry.

Gerry Dawes leads individually-designed wine, food, culture and photography tours of Spain. He is working on a book about his travels on the food and wine beat: Sunset in a Glass: Adventures of a Food and Wine Road Warrior in Spain. Some of his stories have been published here.

Tom Perry is a marketing consultant for the Spanish wine trade and a wine educator. He writes about wine, La Rioja and travels in Spain at Inside Rioja.