~835 cal · 92g protein · 46g carbs · 22g fat (estimated, per serving)
🍽️
Rabbit pieces braised in dark red wine and tomato sauce
🇲🇹 Valletta
Rabbit stew is so central to Maltese identity that eating it — a fenkata — was once a quiet act of defiance against the ruling Knights’ hunting bans. Villages still gather for all-night fenkata feasts; the pasta cooked in the gravy comes first, the rabbit second.
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🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
Ingredients
Serves 4 —
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3 lbs rabbit (or chicken), jointed
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1.5 cups red wine
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14 oz + 2 tbsp tomatoes, chopped + tomato paste
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2 onions
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6 cloves garlic
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2 + 3 carrots + potatoes, chunked
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3 bay leaves
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1 cup peas
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1/4 cup olive oil
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for 4 crusty bread or pasta, to serve
Instructions
1
Marinate the rabbit (or mushrooms and beans) in the red wine and garlic for a few hours if you can.
2
Drain (keep the wine) and brown the rabbit in olive oil; add onions until golden.
3
Return the wine, tomatoes, paste, bay, and water to cover; simmer, lid ajar, 90 minutes (30 for the plant version).
4
Add carrots and potatoes for the last 30 minutes, peas for the last 10, until the meat pulls from the bone.
5
Serve — traditionally the gravy over pasta first as a course, then the rabbit with bread to mop up.
Maltese fenkata tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
📍
Valletta. Honey-stone streets and slow Sunday stews.
🗺️
Malta. A fortress island with a Sunday stew all its own.
🌍
Europe. Village recipes guarded for generations.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
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