[paladinfes]

Now I know that we associate Hasenpfeffer as a German stew of marinated rabbit that is heavily seasoned with pepper.

However, I once read that the dish was "discovered" by an Italian gourmand (who also has some claim to discovering foie gras). The "original" dish was prepared using hare (and please, do not try to tell me that rabbit and hare and for that matter, pika are the same because they are not .. same family but different critters).

This Italian version was considered an aphrodisiac and as such was frequently consumed; however, the Pope banned the dish.

The dish migrated to Germany and rabbit was substituted for hare ... and the rest is history.

I know this is not a figment of my imagination but I cannot for the life of me re-located the authority citing this history.

Can anyone aid me in finding an authenticating source? Thanks

[amazingrace]

I cannot help you with tracking the Italian origin of the dish, however you can be certain it was not called hasenpfeffer (hase = hare, pfeffer = pepper), in Italy. And while rabbit, or even squirrel , are accepted as suitable substitues for hare, chicken is not. It is also quite possible that owing to passage of time, regional availability of ingredients, and each home cook's individual interpretation of the dish, that the original Italian version might bear very little resemblence to what is now regarded as a German classic.

[boar_d_laze]

IIRC, the German version can be traced to 14th Century Westfalen. The Italian origin story is apocryphal at best.

BDL

[foodpump]

Most German "pfeffers" are stews based on wild game (wabbit, but also deer). While Chuck Jones made "hasenpfeffer" famous, the German speaking nations have been enjoying ther pfeefer--particularily during game season for quite a long time now. A typical ingredient of pfeffer is fresh blood, which is coagulated with either vinegar or alcohol and added as a liason to thicken the stew at the last minute