Stuffat tal-Fenek is a type of rabbit stew in Maltese cuisine.[1] It is the national dish of Malta.[1][2] It is typically slow-cooked or braised with wine, tomatoes, garlic, bay leaves, cloves, salt, pepper and vegetables.[1][3] It is sometimes served in two courses by pouring the sauce over pasta as a first course and serving the rabbit and vegetables as a main course.[4]
The dish may have originated as a form of symbolic resistance to the hunting restrictions imposed by the Knights of St John.[5] The dish gained in popularity after the lifting of restrictions in the late 18th century (and by which time the indigenous breed, Tax-Xiber, had multiplied and prices dropped) and after local domestication of rabbits, a practice which may have been imported from France.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b c "How to make traditional Maltese Rabbit Stew". Air Malta. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
- ^ Blasi, Abigail (2016-01-01). Lonely Planet Malta & Gozo. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1-76034-025-4.
- ^ Hamilton, Matthew (18 August 2022). "Stuffat Tal-Fenek (Maltese Braised Rabbit)". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
- ^ "Rabbit stew (stuffat tal-fenek)". sbs.com.au. 2008-07-01. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
- ^ Cassar, C. Fenkata: An emblem of Maltese peasant resistance? quoted in Gauci-Maistre, J. Tax-xiber: the indigenous rabbit of Malta
- ^ "Gauci-Maistre, J. Tax-xiber: the indigenous rabbit of Malta" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-08-26.
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