Fenkata and Its Rich Red Wine and Tomato Rabbit Sauce Stain
Fenkata (from "fenek" — the Maltese word for rabbit) is the undisputed national dish of Malta. Rabbit is to Malta what fish and chips is to the United Kingdom or what gallo pinto is to Costa Rica — the defining dish of national culinary identity, eaten at celebrations, village festas (the elaborate local patron-saint festivals that are the centrepiece of Maltese community life), and Sunday family gatherings. Malta has one of the highest per-capita rabbit meat consumption rates in the world, a tradition dating back to the Arab period of Maltese history when the island was densely populated with wild rabbits. The fenkata is not merely a dish but a communal event: traditionally, the fenkata begins with "mqarrun il-fenek" (pasta — usually bigoli, penne rigate, or rigatoni — dressed with the rich rabbit braising sauce) as a starter, followed by the rabbit pieces themselves as the main course, often accompanied by crusty Maltese bread (hobż tal-Malti) to soak up the sauce. The rabbit is braised for an extended period (typically 1.5–2 hours) in a sauce of crushed ripe tomatoes (or tinned plum tomatoes), Maltese red wine (often from the indigenous Ġellewża grape variety or Nero d'Avola), garlic, onion, tomato paste, fresh marjoram (the defining Maltese herb, used far more generously in Maltese cooking than in Italian or Sicilian cooking), fresh thyme, bay leaves, black pepper, and occasionally capers and olives (particularly in Gozitan versions from the sister island of Gozo). The long braising develops a very dark, intensely coloured, deeply flavoured sauce from the combined reduction of red wine and tomato.
Combined Red Wine Anthocyanin and Tomato Lycopene: A Very Dark Stain
The fenkata rabbit sauce is unusual among meat stews in containing both red wine and tomato at high concentration, with a long cooking reduction that concentrates both colour compounds. The red wine contributes anthocyanin pigments from the grape skins (the five grape-skin anthocyanins — delphinidin, cyanidin, petunidin, peonidin, and malvidin glucosides — discussed in the red wine and gallo pinto posts). The tomato contributes lycopene (the red fat-soluble carotenoid from tomato) and tomato-derived Maillard brown compounds from the long reduction. On carpet, the combined anthocyanin-plus-lycopene-plus-Maillard stain from fenkata rabbit sauce is a very dark, deeply coloured, brownish-red stain — darker than a pure red wine stain (which is anthocyanin only) and darker than a pure tomato sauce stain (which is lycopene only). The combination produces a complex stain with multiple colour layers. Cold water rinse first: the water-soluble anthocyanin from the wine can be partially flushed from carpet fibres with cold water (as discussed in the red wine, gallo pinto, and rfissa posts). The fat-soluble lycopene will not rinse out with cold water and remains on the carpet after flushing — but the cold water first is still the correct first step because of the anthocyanin component. Hydrogen peroxide (3%, 20–22 minutes on light carpet) addresses both the anthocyanin and the lycopene oxidatively, and also the dark Maillard brown from the long-reduced rabbit braising sauce.
Pasta Starch, Rabbit Fat, and Olive Oil
The mqarrun il-fenek pasta first course in a fenkata means that pasta (typically penne rigate or rigatoni, which hold the sauce in their ridges) dressed with rabbit sauce is also a potential spill component alongside the braised rabbit pieces. Pasta starch (wheat starch and gluten): physical collection of pasta pieces from the carpet before wet treatment; cold water rinse for the starch; protease enzyme for the wheat gluten. The pasta is also coated in the rabbit sauce (which has been tossed through the pasta) — so each pasta piece on the carpet carries a coating of the dark red-wine-and-tomato rabbit sauce. The rabbit braising sauce coating the pasta is the dominant colour challenge rather than the pasta starch itself. Rabbit meat is one of the leanest protein sources used in European cuisine — rabbit fat content is approximately 3–8% depending on the part of the rabbit (the saddle tends to be leaner than the hindquarters), compared to chicken thigh at approximately 10–15% or lamb at 15–25%. The main fat source in fenkata is olive oil (used for the initial browning of the rabbit pieces before braising) rather than the rabbit fat itself. The combined olive oil and rabbit fat load from fenkata is lighter than most braised meat stews — two rounds of dry cornflour before wet treatment are sufficient. Lipase enzyme for the olive oil (monounsaturated oleic acid, approximately 73%) and rabbit fat. The rabbit myoglobin (rabbit is classified as white meat but contains more myoglobin than chicken breast, giving the raw meat a pale pinkish hue — cooked rabbit is typically white to grey-white): cold water first for the myoglobin residue; protease enzyme.
Marjoram Herb Aroma and Red Maltese Wine Character
Marjoram (Origanum majorana — "sweet marjoram", the cultivated herb, as opposed to Origanum vulgare, wild marjoram/oregano) is the signature herb of Maltese cooking and is used with great generosity in fenkata — a large handful of fresh marjoram sprigs is added to the braising pot. On carpet, the marjoram volatile aromatic compounds (primarily terpinen-4-ol, sabinene hydrate, cis-sabinene hydrate, and linalool — the primary monoterpene aroma compounds of marjoram) are absorbed into carpet fibres from the rabbit sauce. Marjoram aroma is described as warm, slightly sweet, slightly pine-like, more delicate and sweeter than the sharper wild-marjoram/oregano note — on carpet it contributes a pleasant, warm Mediterranean herbal character. The baking soda overnight step absorbs the marjoram terpene volatiles. The Maltese red wine (Ġellewża or Nero d'Avola) in the fenkata sauce has been reduced during the long braise, concentrating both the anthocyanin colour and the wine tannins (polyphenols that can bind to carpet fibres in a similar way to tea tannin discussed in the coffee-tea post). The wine tannin from the fenkata sauce may cause a slight persistent brownish tinge on light carpet after the anthocyanin has been addressed with hydrogen peroxide — a second application of hydrogen peroxide specifically on the tannin-coloured area may be needed. Capers and olives (if present in the Gozitan version): caper brine has a strong, pungent vinegary aroma from the caper pickling liquid — the baking soda step addresses the caper brine aroma. Olive pieces contribute olive fat to the spill zone (olive fat is high monounsaturated oleic acid — one round of cornflour).
Very Dark Rabbit Sauce Stain or Marjoram Herb Aroma Remaining?
Maltese fenkata's combined red wine anthocyanin and concentrated tomato creates one of the darkest braised rabbit sauce stains of any Mediterranean dish on carpet. We can connect you with a local carpet cleaner in the Sutherland Shire who handles Maltese and Mediterranean food spills.
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Frequently asked
My fenkata used rabbit pieces that were first marinated overnight in red wine and garlic (a common Maltese preparation step before braising) and then also briefly fried in olive oil before the braising. The overnight wine marinade means the rabbit meat itself (not just the braising sauce) was already wine-coloured throughout — the myoglobin in the rabbit meat had been partially wine-stained by the marinade. When a marinated, fried, then braised rabbit piece fell on the carpet skin-side down, the combined wine-marinated meat juice, the frying oil from the browning step, and the braising sauce all contributed to the stain. How does the overnight wine marinade affect the carpet treatment?
Wine-marinated and fried fenkata rabbit on carpet: (1) The wine marinade has pre-coloured the rabbit meat juices with anthocyanin — when the wine-marinated rabbit piece falls on carpet and releases its internal juice, the juice has absorbed anthocyanin from the wine marinade at higher concentration than the juice of unmatinated rabbit. The myoglobin from the rabbit meat is now mixed with wine anthocyanin in the meat juice, creating a combined meat-juice-plus-wine-anthocyanin stain at the contact zone. Cold water first (for both the myoglobin and the anthocyanin). Hydrogen peroxide for the anthocyanin colour. Protease enzyme for the meat protein. (2) The frying oil from the initial browning of the marinated rabbit in olive oil — the marinated rabbit pieces were dried of their marinade liquid before frying (as is standard practice), then browned in hot olive oil. Some of the frying oil from this browning step remains on the surface of the rabbit piece and is transferred to carpet on contact. The olive oil from frying adds to the fat stain alongside the rabbit fat and the braising sauce olive oil. Three rounds of cornflour for the combined fat load from the frying step. (3) Browned crust from the frying step — the Maillard-browned exterior crust of the fried rabbit piece (the dark, flavourful browned surface from the pan-fry before braising) creates a dark Maillard brown contact mark on light carpet where the browned surface contacts the carpet. This browned crust colour from the fried rabbit exterior is addressed by the hydrogen peroxide step (alongside the wine anthocyanin colour).
I made a version of fenkata where I finished the braised rabbit by removing the rabbit pieces from the braising sauce and deep-frying them in hot sunflower oil until very crispy before serving, while serving the braising sauce separately (the typical "fenek moqli" preparation — fried rabbit). The deep-fried rabbit pieces have a very crispy, very golden-brown exterior from the frying and very little sauce on their surface (unlike traditionally braised rabbit which is saturated in sauce). When a crispy fried fenek moqli piece fell on my carpet skin-side down, the deep-fried coating created a different stain from braised rabbit in sauce. How does deep-fried fenek moqli differ from braised fenkata on carpet?
Deep-fried fenek moqli versus braised fenkata rabbit on carpet: (1) No sauce stain from the main piece — deep-fried fenek moqli pieces have minimal sauce on their surface (the rabbit was removed from the braising sauce and pat-dried before frying). The carpet contact stain from a fenek moqli piece is therefore primarily from the deep-frying oil (absorbed into the rabbit during frying) and the Maillard-browned fried exterior, NOT from the red-wine-tomato braising sauce. This is a fundamentally different stain than braised fenkata on carpet. (2) Deep-frying sunflower oil — sunflower oil has a very high proportion of linoleic acid (approximately 68% PUFA) and a moderate oleic acid content (approximately 20% MUFA), making it one of the more PUFA-rich common frying oils. The PUFA content makes sunflower oil moderately prone to rancidity after carpet contact. The fat stain from the deep-frying oil absorbed into the rabbit piece: four rounds of dry cornflour for the significant deep-frying oil load. Lipase enzyme. (3) Maillard-browned crispy exterior contact marks — the very dark golden-brown crispy fried skin of fenek moqli creates an intense, concentrated Maillard brown contact on the carpet pile at each contact point. The Maillard browning from high-heat deep-frying (180–190°C oil temperature) is more concentrated and more visually vivid than from oven-roasting or braising. Hydrogen peroxide for the Maillard fried-crust colour. (4) If the braising sauce was also accidentally spilled separately alongside the crispy rabbit piece — treat the sauce stain separately with cold water first, then hydrogen peroxide, targeting the wine-anthocyanin and tomato-lycopene in the sauce.
My Maltese grandmother always adds "bigilla" (the traditional Maltese broad bean and garlic dip, made from dried tic beans/horse beans — a small dried broad bean variety — soaked, cooked, and mashed with garlic, olive oil, fresh herbs, and chili) alongside the fenkata bread course, as a traditional Maltese accompaniment. When the fenkata fell, the bigilla was also knocked off the table and landed on the carpet alongside the rabbit sauce and pasta. The bigilla is a thick, brownish-beige paste with a strong garlic and herb aroma. How does the bigilla stain differ from the fenkata rabbit sauce stain?
Bigilla (Maltese broad bean dip) on carpet alongside fenkata: (1) Bigilla is a legume paste — like hummus or mashed lentils, bigilla is made from cooked, mashed dried beans (Maltese tic beans, Vicia faba var. equina — a small, harder variety of broad bean), making it a dense legume starch and protein paste on carpet. The treatment approach is similar to hummus or any legume-based dip: physical collection of the bigilla paste from carpet with a spoon first; cold water rinse for the water-soluble legume starch; protease enzyme for the broad bean protein (broad bean protein contains vicilin and legumin — the same classes of storage proteins as in lentils, chickpeas, and other legumes). (2) Olive oil in the bigilla — bigilla is finished with a generous pour of olive oil. The olive oil component: two to three rounds of dry cornflour before wet treatment. Lipase enzyme. (3) Garlic in the bigilla — the strong garlic aroma (allicin and various organosulfur compounds from crushed raw garlic) is absorbed into carpet fibres. The baking soda overnight step addresses the garlic aroma. For a very strong garlic bigilla (Maltese bigilla is known for having significant garlic content), a dilute vinegar step before baking soda helps: dilute white vinegar (1:10) applied for 3 minutes, blotted, then baking soda overnight. (4) The brownish-beige colour of bigilla on light carpet — the mashed tic bean paste has a slightly brownish-beige colour from the oxidised bean phenolic compounds (broad beans contain L-DOPA and various phenolic compounds in the seed coat that oxidise to brownish quinone compounds in the mashed paste). Hydrogen peroxide can address any persistent brown discolouration from the bigilla phenolics. (5) The bigilla stain is entirely separate in character from the fenkata rabbit sauce stain — treat each stain zone separately.