Roasted Rabbit with Spicy Crust

° Serves 4

I use a young, tender rabbit about three months old for this recipe. The rabbit is butterflied first and then seasoned with Chinese chili-garlic sauce (hot sauce like Sriracha will work too), roasted in a hot oven, and finished with a bread topping. Rabbit is available in most supermarkets nowadays. The lean, mild, tender meat is good roasted or in stews.

• 1 cleaned rabbit (2½ to 3 pounds)
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons Chinese chili-garlic sauce, Sriracha, or other hot sauce
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 slices bread
• 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the rabbit breast side up on your cutting board and, using kitchen shears, cut through the center of the rib cage to split it open. Turn the rabbit breast side down and press down on it firmly to flatten it to a thickness of about 2 inches so it cooks uniformly.

Rub the rabbit on both sides with the salt, pepper, and chili-garlic sauce and place it breast side down on a cookie sheet lined with nonstick aluminum foil. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and roast for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, break the bread into pieces, place in a food processor with the parsley, and process until finely chopped. (You should have about 1½ cups.) Mix with the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil to moisten the bread so it browns nicely instead of burning.

Spread the crumb mixture over the rabbit and roast for 20 minutes longer. Let the rabbit rest for 15 minutes, then cut it into pieces with kitchen shears or a knife and serve.