Wintry Rabbit Pasta

Right. So, I don't have a funky name for this. Honestly, we just needed a quick way to use up the remaining rabbit and sauce from earlier in the week. This delivered the goods. Spiciness from the red pepper flakes with wintry rosemary coupled with the already wintry-tasting rabbit was a nice warm-up. A nice nutty hit from the good Parmesan at the end. Delicious.

2 T olive oil
5 shallots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
2 T tomato paste
1 sprig rosemary, leaves only chopped
2 cans chopped tomatoes, with their juice
1 1/2 cups rabbit leftover from earlier in the week
3/4 cup sauce from the leftover rabbit
200 g fettucine or other long, thin pasta
Parmesan, for grating
extra-virgin olive oil, to finish

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When hot, add the shallots, garlic, red pepper flakes and a pinch each of salt and pepper and sweat down for 5-7 minutes, until the shallots are softened and translucent.

Add the tomato paste and rosemary and stir around to combine and cook until the tomato paste becomes darker and sweeter-smelling, about 90 seconds.

Add the tomatoes, rabbit and sauce. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, drop the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, make the pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water toward the end of the cooking and add it to the sauce. Check for seasoning and adjust as necessary.

Drain and rinse the pasta when cooked to al dente, and then add it to the sauce, stirring to combine. Serve in bowls with grated Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of good extra-virgin olive oil.