In Season: Broccoli Rabe
Posted at 5:00 AM Dec 10, 2009
By Kathleen Willcox |
Not a completely unreasonable response.
If bitter doesn't suit your palate sans a touch of sweet, unadulterated broccoli rabe is about as appealing as a platter of braised rubber tires. Strangely though, I've found that tempering the broccoli rabe with an acidic burst of lemon juice mellows its flavors and makes even my sweets-obsessed sweetie dig in with gusto. Linguine, minced garlic, a splash of vino, fresh herbs and cheese never hurt, either.
Recipe: Broccoli Cast a Spell on Your Palate Rabe
Serves 4
Ingredients:
½ pound linguini
1 bunch broccoli rabe, washed, roughly chopped with tough sections of stems trimmed and discarded
3 T olive oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
¼ C white wine
½ cup fresh parsley or 1 T dried
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 t dried red hot pepper flakes
½ C grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Boil salted water for pasta in a medium pot. Cook until al dente, drain and reserve.
- Heat sturdy large skillet and add oil until hot. Add shallot and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Toss in the dreaded broccoli rabe, salt and pepper. Sautee until soft, about 7 minutes.
- Stir in reserved pasta, lemon juice, fresh herbs, hot pepper flakes and heat until warmed through.
- Plate and garnish with Parmesan and extra herbs if you like.
- Eat and enjoy!
Comments
Welllll ohhkaay, we'll go YOUR way.
Tried it before and it was about as nummy as eating grass. Maybe there's new life with the lemon juice, and a hot plate full of linguine and friends certainly can't hurt the matter.
Posted 12/10/2009 at 09:35:10 AMYou absolutely nailed the bitter flavor description, "about as appealing as a platter of braised rubber tires". Spot on.
Posted 12/10/2009 at 09:38:08 AMIt's called rapini, first off...
And it's a basic staple of Italian cooking...it can be fried up with garlic, good olive oil and chili flakes with a pinch of salt...it's delicious
As for it being bitter, get over it. Some things are bitter, other things are sweet. That's life.
Posted 12/10/2009 at 09:49:57 AMI love this stuff (which can be called broccoli rabe or rapini, among other things. It's a regional thing, y'all/you guys). Thank you so much for the recipe. I believe I'll try it for our family pot-luck.
Posted 12/10/2009 at 11:22:20 AM