Small mountain of broccoli rabe

[Lilija]

Big lush bunches of the stuff were on sale at my produce market the other day, two for a dollar! So, I bought six bunches. It's big and leafy and green, and I couldn't help myself. I also didn't stop to think how to use it.

Today, I'm making white beans and broccoli rabe, we've already had it the typical way sauteed in garlic and oil, Beyond that, I'm out of ideas.

Does it freeze well? Any ideas, recipes, input would be very welcome.

[weinoo]

It's great with sausages, sauteed to the point of breaking down, as a pasta sauce - traditionally on orecchiette.

[Alcuin]

It's also good sauteed then eaten on a crusty roll with sausage and sharp cheese (provelone or shaved pecorino romano). It is excellent with roast/braised pork too. Also if you put that on a roll as above but replacing the sausage you're heading to the hallowed ground of the Pork Italiano. It's good on crostini too.

[vice]

From Ad Hoc at Home:

blanch, shock, and dry rabe. dress lightly with sherry vinegar and olive oil. plate and garnish with thinly sliced shallot and olive. serve with burrata drizzled with more olive oil.

[ludja]

It's great with sausages, sauteed to the point of breaking down, as a pasta sauce - traditionally on orecchiette.

I really like the recipe from LIdia Bastianich: http://www.recipezaar.com/Orecchiette-With-Broccoli-Rabe-and-Sausage-328717

The chicken stock, high quality pecorino or parmigiano reggiano, crushed red pepper and the small amount of butter swirled in at the end are really touches that put it over the top. ONe my favorite top ten dishes! I usually lightly peel the larger stems of the rapini and use all of it then. If you can't get your hands on orecchiette pasta another shape that holds the sauces and bits and pieces well is fusilli. I do love using orecchiette for this dish though; whenever I run across it somewhere I buy it with this dish in mind.

I've made other variations in which I've subbed anchovy or pancetta for the sausage; also very good,

Edited March 4, 2010 by ludja (log)

[ludja]

As I adore broccoli rabe but almost always use it in the one sausage/pasta dish, I'm also curious about other uses.

I thought of other bitter greens (collard, etc) and came up again with the fact that it goes well with pork, as Alcuin mentioned. So, I do think sauteed versions of it would go great with any simply flavored pork dish.

ON a more Italian note, I was thinking it would also go great with ricotta as in a ricotta pie or in a calzone, with or without some type of cured pork (sausage, pancetta, ham, etc). If no pork, then maybe tomatoes/sun dried or fresh or mushrooms would fit well. Here is a broccoli rabe ricotta frittata: http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/broccoli-rabe-ricotta-frittata-recipe-7753?click=recipe_sr

Cruising online, I found some interesting recipes that used walnuts with broccoli rabe which somehow sounds like a great combination.

Linguine with Broccoli Rabe Walnut Pesto http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/linguine-broccoli-rabe-walnut-pesto-recipe

(Here you could make a bunch of pesto without the cheese and freeze it to save some of your bounty for later.) Add the cheese when you thaw and use the pesto later. I bet this would be good with chicken as well.

Broccoli Rabe with Walnuts and Bulghur http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Broccoli-Rabe-with-Bulgur-and-Walnuts-241334

Thanks for your question; I want to try some of these other preparations now--including making a Pork Italiano at home so I don't have to wait for one until my next trip to Philly.

Edited March 4, 2010 by ludja (log)

[rgruby]

Was just searching recipes for this as well.

Saw one with the usual garlic, but then with the addition of tangerines. I have some blood oranges, so they're going in instead. Won't cut the bitterness as much as a tangerine, but it's what I have. A couple recipes suggested vinegar. Saw one with arugula and pine nuts too. But basically most of the recipes started with boiling, blanching or steaming as the first step and then saute with olive oil and garlic, with the variations at the end of cooking.

Also, if you're adding an acid (lemon juice, vinegar, tangerines etc.) always add it at the end.

Cheers,

Geoff

[Lilija]

First of all, thanks so much for all the excellent ideas. Now I'm thinking six bunches might not be enough! Wow. The Italiano sandwich is going to be number one. I'm going out tomorrow to find some good pork butt, and I'll probably be dreaming about it tonight.

I asked a friend earlier, and she passed on a recipe for arancini with sausage, roasted red peppers and broccoli rabe. It sounds good, but I don't know if I feel like getting all into making rice balls, this week. (Though, anyone that IS in the mood to may feel free to make me half a dozen and mail them.) Same with calzones, although a sausage and greens calzone might be among my favorite uses for dough in the world. Maybe if I'm not sick of the stuff by the weekend, I'll do something like that.

Lidia's recipe, whoa. I've made something like it before, the sauteed broccoli rabe with sausage and pasta, but I never thought about a) cooking it way down, like weinoo said, or the extras in that recipe.

Everything else sounds so good, I like the raw ideas, the salad and pesto, because I happen to like the bite, and I bet it's got a great edgy fresh flavor. I'm getting sick of heavy winter vegetables, so I'm excited.

rgruby, in tonight's meal, I chopped it up and cooked it with tiny navy beans in a stewy sort of dish lots of garlic and sage, but I added the rind and juice of two tangerines, because I heard somewhere that they're good together. It truly is an amazing combination, more than a sum of it's parts, for sure. Took what could have been a stodgy bean stew in a very bright, flavorful springy direction.

This is such a great thread, I'm so excited. I'm also going back to the store tomorrow for more, if it's still cheap. It usually goes for $2 to $4 a bunch here, so for fifty cents a bunch, and all these great recipes, I really can't go wrong.

Edited March 5, 2010 by Lilija (log)

[ludja]

The arancini sound good; is there mozzarella inside as well?

Here are a few other recipes I found on the Martha Stewart website:

Spaghettini w Broccoli Rabe Pesto, Calamari and Ligurian Olives

Turnip Hash with Broccoli Rabe (add fried eggs for dinner)

Baked Rigatoni w Sausage Meatballs and Broccoli Rabe

Warm Cranberry Bean Salad w Butternut Squash and Broccoli Rabe

I'm jealous at the great price you have on the broccoli rabe right now. I've never seen that kind of deal on them.

[ludja]

Also, it just hit me why I was thinking of the rabe and ricotta combination. A great pizzeria in Albuquerque called "Farina" has the following pizza which is one of my favorites:

pepe caldo pizza iwth

broccollini, hot pepper, ricotta, caciocavallo

(Caciocavallo tastes similar to aged provolone.)

[petite tête de chou]

Include it in your next quiche. The broccoli rabe pairs well with the usual quiche delights- mushrooms, bacon, sausage, shrimp, caramelized onions, leeks etc. but the onions are my favorite. And I love things spicy so I usually include a pinch or so more of red pepper flakes.

[weinoo]

I think one of the most important issues when using a vegetable like rapini is that in most cases it's a good idea to blanch, shock and then wring the hell out of the liquid that's in there. And perhaps then dry it off in a couple of paper or linen tea towels.

Especially when used on top of a pizza, or within a pie, raab can exude a lot of liquid, and there's nothing worse than a soggy pizza, is there?

[Lilija]

The arancini sound good; is there mozzarella inside as well?

Here are a few other recipes I found on the Martha Stewart website:

Spaghettini w Broccoli Rabe Pesto, Calamari and Ligurian Olives

Turnip Hash with Broccoli Rabe (add fried eggs for dinner)

Baked Rigatoni w Sausage Meatballs and Broccoli Rabe

Warm Cranberry Bean Salad w Butternut Squash and Broccoli Rabe

I'm jealous at the great price you have on the broccoli rabe right now. I've never seen that kind of deal on them.

The rice balls do have mozzarella in them, in little cubes. Good stuff. She's also made a crab and peas arancini that blew my mind, but that's another topic.

My produce market has this fun habit of finding a mega-ton of something and discounting it heavily. Normally, it's something a little out of the ordinary, and great quality. Baby bananas one week, giant papayas, bok choy, swiss chard, purple potatoes, these splendid carrots with a huge lush bunch of carrot greens attached. This week seems to be broccoli rabe.

So many good ideas. Thanks, weinoo for the tip on using it on pizza, I figured the stuff would be excellent on pizza, but maybe a little wet, or overpowering. I don't like regular broccoli on pizza because of that. Your method is a good one, for wringing it out. That would probably make it fantastic in quiche, too.

[weinoo]

So many good ideas. Thanks, weinoo for the tip on using it on pizza, I figured the stuff would be excellent on pizza, but maybe a little wet, or overpowering. I don't like regular broccoli on pizza because of that. Your method is a good one, for wringing it out. That would probably make it fantastic in quiche, too.

Yep. And do remember, that when using it on pizza, less is more - cause pizza's all about the crust anyway .

[Lilija]

So many good ideas. Thanks, weinoo for the tip on using it on pizza, I figured the stuff would be excellent on pizza, but maybe a little wet, or overpowering. I don't like regular broccoli on pizza because of that. Your method is a good one, for wringing it out. That would probably make it fantastic in quiche, too.

Yep. And do remember, that when using it on pizza, less is more - cause pizza's all about the crust anyway .

That's my pizza theory regarding anything, though. I favor cracker thin crust, and minimalist toppings.

[heidih]

Aside from the Italian uses, I find it similar enough to gai lan (Chinese brocolli) to use in similar preps. The most basic would be the dim sum style steamed and dressed with oyster sauce.