Spaghetti with a Wild Rabbit Sauce and Mushrooms

Peel and chop the onions, put into a broad pan with two or three tablespoonfuls of olive oil, and start to soften over a low light stirring from time to time.

Trim and finely slice the centre part of the celery and add to the onion. Trim and scrape the carrots, cut into long thin slices, very finely chop and finish off in a blender to get very fine dice. Add to the onion along with peeled and finely chopped garlic cloves.

Use scissors to cut the prosciutto into thin strips and add to the vegetable mixture and cook for about another ten minutes until soft but without browning.

Trim the rabbit of any liver etc, wash under a cold tap, and dry with some kitchen paper. Joint the rabbit into the back legs, the saddle cut into two, the front legs and the shoulders  Picture  .

Season the joints in salt and pepper and brown a little in some olive oil for a few minutes. Remove and add to the vegetable mixture. Pour over a glass of red wine and simmer for five minutes, add some water until barely covered.

Tuck some rosemary stalks around the side of the pan, cover and simmer for an hour turning the rabbit after half an hour. Meanwhile peel and quarter the mushrooms, cook in a little butter along with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.

After an hour take the pan off the heat, and take out and discard the rosemary. Take out each rabbit joint, cut the meat off the bone, shred the meat and put back into the pan. Add a little hot water, put back on the heat and simmer for a further hour, stirring and topping up with water when necessary from time to time.

Towards the end of the second hour put on the spaghetti cooking water to boil. Take the mixture off the heat  Picture   at the end of the hour. Add the mushrooms and cooking liquor, two or three tablespoonfuls of cream, a little freshly grated parmesan and season.

Cook and drain the spaghetti and spoon carefully into the rabbit mixture not allowing the rabbit to be overwhelmed by the pasta and stir well. Serve into baking rounds if you have any  Picture  . Take out the rounds as you serve  Zoom  .