Broccoli rabe – pronounced rob – (raab, rapini) is an odd vegetable. It is bitter like kale, but sort of has a broccoli taste as well. You can also find Broccolini™ a trademarked hybrid of broccoli and chard, which is similar. We tried it for the first time at home and loved it! Here is the recipe to make a delicious side dish!
2 bunches broccoli rabe (it cooks down A LOT)
1 medium onion, frenched
3 cloves garlic, minced
butter
olive oil
salt
pepper
2 Tbl grated parmesan (reggiano is best!)
First, bring a big pot of water to the boil and add a liberal amount of salt. While the water is coming to temp, rinse the rabe, remove woody stems and cut into 2″ pieces. Blanch the rabe in the boiling salted water for about a minute, then strain into a colander and rinse with cold water.
In a large skillet, put in about 1Tbl of olive oil and 2Tbl of butter over medium flame. When the butter is melted, add onions and garlic. Sweat the veg (watch the heat and reduce if they are starting to brown, you want translucent, not brown) until limp. Add in the broccoli rabe and turn up the heat a bit. Don’t burn your onions/garlic. Saute until rabe starts to cook down, getting soft. Salt and pepper to taste. Easy on the salt since you’re adding a couple of tablespoons of parmesan NOW.
An excellent side to beef and potatoes!