I read one of the responses to this recipe about not boiling the broccoli rabe. Boiling it is a must. My grandmom was from Italy and made broccoli rabe all the time. She would definitely boil it and the stems are supposed to be soft. Everytime my dad and I eat broccoli rabe somewhere he constantly complains if the stems are hard. It ruins the broccoli rabe. It is usually not a bright green color. It is more of a dark color. Take my advice!!
I grew up on broccoli rabe. If you love the flavor of hearty green vegetables, try making it like native Italians do. Instead of boiling add the broccoli rabe raw to the hot oil and garlic in a large skillet. Stir and cook until bright green and a little tender, less than ten minutes (or longer if you like it thouroughly cooked). That's it. Try it with some red pepper flakes. Enjoy!
First of all, remove stems, all you want are the leaves and the flowerettes on the top. Boil in salted water. Remove. You can either saute this with garlic and olive oil, or parboil then finish cooking in broth. Add a can of cannellini beans or dark red kidney beans. Be sure to use fresh garlic. A little onion powder and a bit of salt and pepper and you have a low calorie, very healthy meal.
YOU HAVE REFORMED ME!! I have always wanted to love broccoli rabe but have always hated the bitterness when you just saute it. BOILING IS THE SECRET. The bitterness is gone and it is delicious. So nice to have a new healthy veg; I now cook it at least once a week. I also used this method with Broccolini and it too helps eliminate the bitterness. I am looking forward to trying this method with Chinese Broccoli from the Asian Market as that too is so bitter and very very similar to rabe. THANK YOU!
I make this recipe often with a few changes: I serve this over penne pasta use 4-6 cloves of garlic and saute 2 large tomatoes quartered. After I blanch and drain the broccoli rabe I saute the tomatoes for approximately 10 minutes on medium low while I cook penne pasta in another pot. I then add the drained broccoli rabe to the tomatoes and saute for an additional 5 minutes. Served over penne pasta with a generous amount of Parmesan or Romano this has become one of our family standbys!
Broccoli rabe is an acquired taste, even for native Italians (my dad is from Naples and mom is from Trieste - neither of whom would touch the stuff until I cooked it my way). The recipe submitted is basic but can be enhanced this way. Trim the ends of the stems. Bring a large pot or saucepan filled with salted water to a boil. Immerse the BR and cook for no more than 8 minutes. Drain immediately, flash chill and then spread on cookie sheet to continue cool down. The BR will be bright green yet tender. Cut the BR into bite size pieces. Saute some garlic to taste and a few hot pepper flakes in olive oil - about 3 tbsp. should do it. Then add BR, toss to coat and remove from heat when warmed through; you don't want to lose that beautiful bright green color. Place on a serving plate, top with a squirt of lemon juice and maybe some homemade toasted breadcrumbs. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and enjoy.
This was tasty and I'll make it again - but with less oil and maybe half as much time boiling. The boiling seems to remove much of the bitterness from the broccoli rabe, although there's enough bite left that it still tastes like broccoli rabe should taste! However, although the flavor was great, the texture got just a little mushier than I'd like. Also, mine came out a little oily and I would cut down on the oil next time. That said, I really liked this recipe and I will definitely make it again. Thanks for sending it in!
I love veggies, but have never had broccoli rabe. I cannot get it anywhere around where i am from. Is there something that compares in taste that I might be able to substitute?...Thanks
I just finished making this and it is absolutely delicious. I can t wait to make it again. The only thing I did different was to use 3 cloves of garlic and add a sprinkle of red pepper at the end of cooking. Thanks for real keeper.
