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Home » Recipe » Pan-Seared Rabbit Loin Salad with Smoked Pancetta

Pan-Seared Rabbit Loin Salad with Smoked Pancetta

Published on January 25, 2018 by Elizabeth Atia 23 Comments
Last Updated on January 28, 2019

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In collaboration with Villetta Annessa & Garda Trentino Tourism.

Roasted Rabbit Salad with Smoked Pancetta and Dro Plums

One of the many things I love about visiting new places is the opportunities that arise to try new and interesting dishes local to the area. I like to actively seek out ingredients and recipes I’ve never before tasted, and the more unusual the better!

I had one of these wonderful culinary experiences while visiting Riva del Garda in Northern Italy last year, through a private cookery demonstration at Villetta Annessa one afternoon followed by the most extraordinary eight-course tasting menu later on that evening.

Villetta Annessa Riva del Garda

Villetta Annessa Riva del Garda Garden Terrace
Villetta Annessa Riva del Garda Garden Terrace

Villetta Annessa is part of Villa Miravalle, a hotel that has been operating on the shores of Lake Garda since the early 1900s. The new restaurant replaced the original “Il Girarrosto”, which in the sixties gained a Michelin star for its excellent food. You can dine indoors, or, during the warmer seasons, in their stunning garden terrace with its citrus trees and vines.

I had the pleasure of meeting their chef Luca Bombardelli whose passion for local ingredients and techniques shines through in each and every dish he prepares; a beautiful mix of technique, imagination and tradition. Despite not speaking a word of English to me (with special thanks to my translator, Daniele!), Luca explained how to prepare one of the signature dishes of Villetta Annessa: pan-seared rabbit loin salad with pancetta and plums.

Villetta Annessa Riva del Garda Rabbit Salad

For this recipe, Luca slow cooks rabbit loin in a sous vide water bath with plenty of locally produced olive oil at a low temperature for several hours. This results in a delicious, tender medallion of meat which he then wraps in pancetta and pan-sears until golden all over.

The pancetta, he explains, is a little fatty, so it helps caramelise the rabbit loin medallions and imparts a gorgeous flavour to the dish. The pancetta wrapped rabbit is placed in a cold non-stick pan which is then heated so that the fat melts and caramelises.

Villetta Annessa Riva del Garda Luca Bombardelli wrapping rabbit loin in pancetta

Villetta Annessa Riva del Garda Luca Bombardelli pan-searing rabbit loin medallions
Villetta Annessa Riva del Garda Luca Bombardelli pan-searing rabbit loin medallions

The juices from the sous vide bag are reserved and then blended in a matter of seconds with some more local olive oil to make a simple homemade fake mayonnaise. Luca uses this ‘foam’ to garnish the salad with at the end. Alex explained that the proteins in the cooking liquid act like the proteins in the eggs used in mayonnaise to make the mixture thicken, just like mayonnaise does.

Villetta Annessa Riva del Garda Luca Bombardelli making fake mayonnaise

The salad itself is an interesting concept I’ve never encountered before in that it’s a liquid salad! Fresh salad leaves are blanched in boiling water, drained and plunged into a waiting bowl of cold water to revive. Take care not to use red leaves or bitter leave such as rocket for this. The blanched salad leaves are then blended with a little of the rabbit cooking liquid to create a thick foam-like consistency. Xanthan gum is used to help it condense.

Villetta Annessa Riva del Garda Luca Bombardelli
Villetta Annessa Riva del Garda Luca Bombardelli

Villetta Annessa Riva del Garda Rabbit Salad

Some of this liquid salad is poured into the bottom of a serving plate and topped with fresh salad leaves, edible flowers and herbs from Villetta Annessa’s own private herb garden.

This is then topped with the pancetta wrapped rabbit loin pieces, some dried Dro plums (a famous plum from the region where the chef originates) and is then garnished with a crunchy topping prepared from Trentino Grana cheese, locally grown polenta and dehydrated pomodorino tomatoes.

Finally, the dish is garnished with the fake mayonnaise and then served with four pieces of the rabbit as an antipasto dish, or two pieces of the rabbit as part of the Villetta Annessa tasting menu.

Villetta Annessa Riva del Garda Rabbit Salad Ingredients

Villetta Annessa Riva del Garda Rabbit Salad

I enjoyed this dish as part of an eight-course tasting menu later on that evening (a separate blog post will follow about that). If you’re visiting Riva del Garda I would highly recommend treating yourself to an evening meal at this restaurant – the food and service were superb and staff were incredibly knowledgeable with regards to wine pairings for each course.

Villetta Annessa is located in historic city centre of Riva del Garda in the Hotel Villa Miravalle near the base of the mountains overlooking Riva del Garda. Enjoy the cooling ora breeze off the lake as you enjoy an evening meal on their garden terrace.

For more information about Villetta Annessa visit their website and for more information on Riva del Garda, including how to get there and things to see and do, visit the Garda Trentino website.

Villetta Annessa Riva del Garda Rabbit Salad

Table of Contents

  • Italian Pan-Seared Rabbit Loin Salad with Smoked Pancetta & Dro Plums: A Villetta Annessa Recipe
    • Affiliate Links
    • Instructions 
    • Environmental Information

Italian Pan-Seared Rabbit Loin Salad with Smoked Pancetta & Dro Plums: A Villetta Annessa Recipe

Pan-seared sous vide rabbit loin wrapped in smoked pancetta served with a liquid salad and Dro plums. Recipe by Luca Bombardelli from Villetta Annessa, Riva del Garda.
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Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Author: Elizabeth

Ingredients

  • 4 rabbit loin fillets
  • smoked pancetta
  • 100 grams green salad leaves plus extra, to serve
  • 35 grams olive oil
  • sea salt
  • pepper
  • 0.3 grams xanthan gum
  • 6 dried Dro plums sliced
  • edible flowers to garnish
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Affiliate Links

This recipe card may contain affiliate ingredient and equipment links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Instructions 

  • Clean, salt and cut the rabbit loin fillets into bite-sized pieces.
  • Place the rabbit in a sous vide bag along with the olive oil and cook for three hours at 63 degrees Celcius.
  • Remove the bag from the sous vide and carefully drain and reserve the cooking liquid, sieving out any pieces.
  • Meanwhile, blanch the salad leaves (take care not to include any red leaves or bitter green leaves such as rocket) in hot water and cool again in cold water.
  • Blend the blanched salad leaves with a little of the rabbit cooking liquid until it reaches the desired consistency. Season well with salt and pepper and thicken with the xanthan gum. Set aside.
  • Wrap each of the cooled rabbit loin pieces in a slice of smoked pancetta and place in a cold, non-stick pan. Heat to a medium-high heat and sear the rabbit until browned, crispy and heated through. This will take 7-8 minutes.
  • Pour a little of the liquid salad onto a plate and top with salad leaves and edible flowers.
  • Place the pan-seared rabbit on the top and dot the dish with homemade 'mayonnaise', if desired (see recipe notes). Finish off with the sliced Dro plums. Serve immediately.

Notes

To make the homemade 'mayonnaise' place the remaining rabbit sous vide cooking water into a blender, season well with salt and pepper and blend until thick.
You can also sprinkle the salad with a special toasted topping made with equal parts Trentino Grana cheese, cornmeal and dehydrated pomodorino tomatoes.

Environmental Information

Tried this recipe?Mention @TangoRaindrop or tag #elizabethskitchendiary!

Pan Seared Rabbit Salad with Pancetta

Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary was a guest of Garda Trentino Tourism. With thanks to Villetta Annessa for the beautiful meal, the cookery demonstration and for the recipe.

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Comments

  1. Michael says

    December 13, 2018 at 12:19 pm

    Thanks for this recipe, Elizabeth! Honestly, I have been looking for a beef recipe for my new sous vide vacuum sealer on the Internet, and I found your recipe. I must say that this is just a work of culinary art! In the nearest future I will prepare rabbit meat by your recipe. Special thanks for the beautiful photos: they have motivated me!

    Reply
  2. Lady Chi says

    February 12, 2018 at 1:42 pm

    I love meat and food in general but I don’t know how I feel about rabbit. Its a good recipe but i think i will swap the rabbit for lamb or something

    Reply
  3. Toughcookiemommy says

    February 11, 2018 at 5:46 pm

    This dish is so beautiful and looks so good. This would be the perfect beginning to the rest of the meal’s courses.

    Reply
  4. Joanna says

    February 2, 2018 at 1:04 pm

    You were so lucky to have the chance of learn how to cook this special dish from such a talented chef. The rabbit loin is a hard recipe to cook for sure. But it looks so delicious!

    Reply
  5. Hayley Warren says

    January 30, 2018 at 11:40 am

    Rabbit is one meat I will never eat, but this post has kind of tempted me!

    Reply
  6. Leslie Hernandez says

    January 28, 2018 at 7:45 pm

    I have never had rabbit or cooked it either, but this looks really nice love the presentation of the dish!!

    Reply
  7. Charli Bruce says

    January 28, 2018 at 2:17 pm

    What a delicious sounding recipe! I have only ever had rabbit once before and it was delicious, this recipe sounds like it could be even more so than what I had x

    Reply
  8. Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says

    January 28, 2018 at 2:07 pm

    Looks delicious! I have never cooked rabbit xx

    Reply
  9. Tanya Brannan says

    January 28, 2018 at 10:02 am

    Wow! That looks simply delicious. I have never had rabbit before but know it is making a bit of a resurgence in English restaurants which is really good. I love the fact that you got to take photo’s of the chef making the dish up and I can’t wait to see the post about the 8 course tasting menu.

    Reply
  10. Emily Leary says

    January 27, 2018 at 9:08 pm

    I love that we actually get to see the chef prepping the dish in his kitchen and then get the full recipe. Really cool!

    Reply
  11. Nichola - Globalmouse says

    January 27, 2018 at 3:58 pm

    I love learning to cook recipes abroad and Italy has to be the best place ever to do that!

    Reply
  12. Cath - BattleMum says

    January 26, 2018 at 8:02 pm

    I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to try rabbit but that dish does sound really good. You’ve described it and the preparation of it beautifully.

    Reply
  13. Melanie says

    January 26, 2018 at 6:50 pm

    Love the pretty presentation of this dish. Food is always more yummier when is looks visually appealing x

    Reply
  14. Bethany says

    January 26, 2018 at 1:14 pm

    Oh wow that place is stunning, and that food (even though it’s very small) it looks ever so mouth watering, just yum.

    Reply
  15. Amy says

    January 26, 2018 at 11:09 am

    Wow wow wow! It looks and sounds absolutely delicious! I’d love to give this a try x

    Reply
  16. Jess says

    January 26, 2018 at 11:03 am

    I can’t say I’d ever try rabbit but I think when you’re travelling it’s so important to ‘do as the locals do’. Food is such a huge part of the overall culture of Italy. Can’t wait to see the full eight courses.

    Reply
  17. Rosie A says

    January 26, 2018 at 10:10 am

    Coming back to ask a quick question – if you don’t have access to rabbit loin is there an alternative you would recommend? I’ve no idea where to find it in my local area (having done a quick check with my local butcher).

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      January 26, 2018 at 10:56 am

      I reckon pork would work well with this, or even chicken. I’ve seen rabbit in my local butchers, but it’s usually frozen. Failing that, perhaps there’s a local crofter around you who shoots? 🙂

      Reply
  18. Rhian Westbury says

    January 26, 2018 at 9:48 am

    I had rabbit for the first time on the Italian island of Ischia and it was amazing so I’d be keen to make it myself too x

    Reply
  19. Hannah says

    January 26, 2018 at 12:22 am

    I like how you got to see it being made. Never thought about having rabbit in a meal

    Reply
  20. Victoria says

    January 25, 2018 at 9:38 pm

    This looks so yummy! Definitely something I’d like to make for myself x

    Reply
  21. emma white says

    January 25, 2018 at 4:21 pm

    oh wow this and looks and sounds amazing and I feel somewhat embarrassed about the way I serve up my food looking at these pictures just perfection

    Reply
  22. Rosie a says

    January 25, 2018 at 3:26 pm

    This looks divine!

    Reply

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Daydream adventurer. Expat Canadian. Foodie. Calls Shetland home - for now. One eye is always on the horizon. Read More…

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