Broccoli Rabe (Raab) is the Frankenstein of Turnip Greens. The florets on top look like small heads of broccoli, but they’re not.
Broccoli Rabe is a bittergreen and so is best treated with a quick salty parboil which not only softens the bitterness but also livens up the color to a surprisingly cheery bright green.
After parboiling we rough-chop it then sauté it with whole garlic cloves, olive oil and our povertystew safety sausages. The addition of vinegar peppers near the end adds color and provides a snappy foil against the oily greens.
This is a great recipe for late fall/early winter when broccoli rabe is in season and relatively inexpensive – and also because it kinda looks like a Christmas tree.
Need This
2 large bunches of broccoi rabe – trimmed*
6 – 8 fully cooked Italian sweet safety sausages (search the recipe here) – sliced into 1/4 inch disks
1 – 32 oz jar of sweet (or hot) cherry peppers in vinegar – chopped, seeds removed
8 whole garlic cloves -paper skins removed
Olive oil
Salt
Ground black pepper
Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Do This
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add a good handful of salt to the boiling water then dunk the broccoli rabe in there.
Boil the rabe for 3 minutes then relocate it into a colander in the sink and run clean cold water over it until it is cool to the touch.
Pour a couple of glugs of olive oil into a large frypan and put a medium heat under it. If you are using the red pepper flakes toss them into the oil now.
Add the whole garlic cloves to the oil and fry them, turning frequently, until they are golden all around.
Now rough-chop the broccoli rabe and add it, along with the sausage, to the pan with the garlic and oil. Add salt and ground black pepper to taste. DON’T BOGART THAT GARLIC… leave it in there.
Fry on medium-high heat for 5 – 6 minutes, stirring frequently, then turn off the heat. Add the chopped vinegar peppers to the pan. Stir it all up good one more time and serve.
Serves 4. My cost approx. $ 12.75 total – about $3.20 per serving.
* Look for Rabe that has lots of green or green and yellow speckled florets on top. Avoid any that look wilted. Chop off most of the bottom stems up to where the leaves begin. GMN