He showed up with a bag later that day. "My wife's uncle raises them and he killed a couple for you this morning". There they were, whole, heads on and all the other bits.
At least they were skinned. To be reminded that food doesn't just come in film-covered trays on chilled supermarket shelves is a vivid experience. If I'm going to eat it, I should be prepared to face it.
The finished stuffed saddle of rabbit (Image: Frances Bissell) It was with this in mind that I wrote The Real Meat Cookbook in the 90s. Cooking in Gozo I quickly became used to dealing with food with a face. As well as rabbits, most of the fish we eat there I buy whole from the fishmonger.
She will clean and scale as necessary, but the fish hawkers travelling from village to village with the small boats' catches don't even do that. At home I usually buy and cook a whole fish, often a flat fish, generally roasting it. But cooking for more I would buy individual fish and let everyone do their own filleting at the table.
To make a sauce for the fish, I cut off the head and any trimmings, and make a stock. (see recipe) Plaice, lemon sole and brill have rather softer flesh than turbot and John Dory, so require the shorter cooking time. Preparing the fish for roasting.
(Image: Frances Bissell) What did I do with the rabbits? Lots of things. The best part is the heart, kidneys and liver, which I carefully remove from the cavity and put aside for a first course, frying them quickly until just pink inside, deglazing.