Broccoli Rabe roasted with chunks of garlic and oil and a touch of crushed red pepper flakes.
Roasted Broccoli Rabe with Garlic
I love broccoli rabe, and it’s slightly bitter taste especially when sauteed with garlic and oil. It’s also great tossed with pasta, sausage, in a wrap with chicken, or eaten as a side dish.
Broccoli Rabe, otherwise known as rapini is a popular vegetable in Italian and Chinese cuisine. It has a slightly nutty, bitter flavor, and it is a good source of vitamins A, C and K, as well as potassium, calcium and iron.
Toss it with pasta, Pecorino romano and chicken sausage and you have a wonderful meal.
How to cook Broccoli Rabe so it’s less bitter
The best way to cook broccoli rabe to take away most of the bitterness is to blanch it first. Then drain it, saute some garlic in olive oil and add the drained broccoli rabe.
Adding red pepper flakes gives it a nice little kick. This shrinks to almost half its size when cooked.
Roasted Broccoli Rabe with Garlic
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch broccoli rabe rapini, tough stems removed
- 4-5 cloves garlic smashed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and fresh pepper
- pinch crushed red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400°.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- When water boils, add broccoli rabe and blanch one minute.
- Remove from water and DRAIN WELL in a colander.
- Add to a baking dish and mix with garlic, oil, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes.
- Roast 15-20 minutes.
can i blanch one day and roast it the next day
Yes
Perfection! Followed the recipe. I had to limit myself to one serving but I could have easily eaten this whole recipe on it’s own. Hit the spot!
How delicious was this!!!! YUMMY!
I was happy to see this and like your trick of pre-cooking it before you roast. We eat grilled vegetables with almost every meal, and I am never sure how to count the points. We take a big bowl and toss in red pepper strips, asparagus, broccolini, kale – whatever is in season and looks good, and toss it with a good quarter to half cup of olive oil, a little salt and a little pepper. Then we grill it on screens on the grill until slightly charred all over. I know *all* of the olive oil doesn't stay on the veggies, but I have no idea how much does. I think it depends on the veggie. Curly kale tends to hold a lot more than slick peppers… Do I count it all? Because if so this is not a healthy dish! Maybe we should mix with spray oil?