Italian Sautéed Broccoli Rabe
From The Kitchen · a prep-ahead staple
Broccoli rabe (rapini) has a pleasant, mustardy bitterness that loves garlic, chili and good olive oil. Choose a bunch with plenty of florets and little yellow flowers, that's the tender, sweet part, and a quick blanch tames the bite before it ever hits the pan.
Scaled from the original recipe, sizing up or down is proportional, so taste and adjust the salt, acid & spice.
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 bunches broccoli rabe (look for lots of florets and flowers)
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves fresh garlic, thinly sliced
- Red pepper flakes (optional, to taste)
- Sea salt & black pepper
- A few cured olives, pitted (optional, to garnish)
- Lemon wedges, to serve
Method
- Choose a good bunch, lots of florets and flowers, and trim off the tough, hard stem ends (roughly the lower third).
- Blanch the broccoli rabe in salted boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes, just to soften it and mellow the bitterness.
- Drain very well, pressing out the excess water, wet greens steam instead of sauté.
- Warm the olive oil in a wide skillet, add the sliced garlic and a pinch of chili flakes, and cook 30 seconds until fragrant, don't let the garlic brown.
- Add the broccoli rabe and sauté 4 to 5 minutes, tossing, until tender and glossy with the oil.
- Season with salt and pepper, scatter a few cured olives over for extra punch if you like, and finish with a squeeze of lemon.
Gina's tip
Drain the blanched rabe really well, press it in the colander or a clean towel. Any water left behind steams the greens and dulls the garlic-and-oil flavor you're after.
Those few cured olives at the end are optional, but they turn a humble side into something with real punch. And skip any bunch that's all thick stem, you want leaf and flower.
I hope this recipe finds a place in your kitchen as it has in mine. Enjoy!
Gina