Coniglio Arrostito Sotto le Foglie di Verza

• 1 3 1/2- to 4-pound rabbit, cleaned, its liver reserved
• Fine sea salt
• Freshly cracked pepper
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• 4 ounces plus 4 thin slices pancetta
• 3 fat cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves
• 4 tablespoons flat parsley leaves
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
• The rabbits liver, rinsed, trimmed, and coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup Cognac
• Fine sea salt
• 3 ounces prosciutto, minced
• 4 ounces fresh, Italian-style pork sausage, removed from its casing
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 ounces freshly made coarse bread crumbs
• 3 ounces just-grated pecorino
• 4 ounces green Sicilian or Greek olives, crushed lightly with a mallet, stones removed, the flesh chopped coarsely
• 1 extra-large egg
• 4 or 5 large leaves Savoy cabbage, rinsed and dried on absorbent paper towels

1. Rinse and pat dry the rabbit, rubbing its flesh and its cavity with the sea salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. With a mezzaluna or a very sharp knife, mince the 4 ounces of pancetta, garlic, rosemary, and parsley to a thick paste.
4. In a saute pan over a medium flame, warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, heat the aromatic paste in it, adding the fennel seeds and sauteing for a minute until lightly colored.
5. Add the liver, rolling it about in the perfumed fat and pour over the Cognac, shaking the pan, permitting flames to ignite and disperse.
6. Salt the liver lightly and add the prosciutto and the sausage, sauteing until the sausage has taken on a bit of color.
7. Turn the mixture out into a large bowl.
8. Rinse the still-hot saute pan with 1/2 cup of the wine, stirring and scraping at the residue and permitting the wine to reduce for a few seconds.
9. Pour the reduced wine over the mixture in the bowl.
10. Add the bread crumbs, pecorino, the olives, and the egg, combining all to form a loose, light stuffing.
11. Saute a spoonful of the mixture, tasting it for salt and adjusting it with a sprinkling, if necessary.
12. Place the stuffing inside the cavity of the prepared rabbit and sew or skewer the rabbit closed.
13. In a large terra-cotta or enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and, over a high flame, brown the rabbit on all sides.
14. Lay the slices of pancetta over the rabbit and cover it with the leaves of Savoy cabbage.
15. Transfer the casserole to the preheated oven and roast the rabbit, uncovered, for 40 minutes.
16. Remove the leaves of the cabbage and discard them.
17. Permit the rabbit and the pancetta to take on a good, golden color for 10 minutes.
18. Test the rabbit by piercing the flesh of its legs, which should be tender.
19. Roast it for only 5 minutes more if you must, as it is sure to be sufficiently cooked by then.
20. Remove the rabbit from the casserole to a serving plate and rinse the casserole with the remaining wine, scraping and stirring at the residue and permitting the wine to reduce for 2 minutes.
21. Pour the casserole juices over the rabbit and carry it to the table.
22. Carve it and serve it with the stuffing and spoonfuls of the juices.

salt, freshly cracked pepper, nutmeg, thin slices pancetta, garlic, rosemary, parsley, extravirgin olive oil, fennel seeds, cognac, salt, pork sausage, white wine, bread crumbs, pecorino, green, egg, cabbage

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/coniglio-arrostito-sotto-le-foglie-di-verza-391088 (may not work)