Hi there,
Did you ever try something to eat and find the taste appalling and then return to it years later and find it very appealing? This is precisely what happened to me with Broccoli Rabe.
When I married into my Italian American family, broccoli rabe was a vegetable that made an appearance with regularity at meals served in my husband’s parent’s home. My mother in law was extremely fond of this vegetable. One time my mother in law, Linda, ate so much of it that she had to go to the hospital because of intense indigestion she suffered from the copious amount of broccoli rabe that she had eaten. (You can’t make this stuff up.)
I found the taste to be nasty and vile and pushed it around on my plate and made sure I jumped up to clear the table so I could dispose of it without being found out.
Fast forward 30 years and I am at a restaurant and broccoli rabe is being served. Darn, I thought, if that stuff doesn’t smell good. Since everything deserves a second taste, I put that brilliant emerald green vegetable into my mouth. And, wow, now I’m a believer. Now I even have my own favorite way to prepare it.
Broccoli Rabe and Sausage
INGREDIENTS
- Salt
- 2 bunches of broccoli rabe, stalks trimmed and quartered crosswise
- 12 ounces dried orecchiette pasta
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound spicy pork sausage, casings removed
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- Pinch of dried crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup or more freshly grated Parmesan cheese (one can never have enough cheese)
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
PREPARATION
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli rabe and cook until crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Strain the broccoli rabe, reserving all the cooking liquid. Set the broccoli rabe aside. Cook the orecchiette in the same pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
- Meanwhile, in a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil over a medium flame. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until the sausage is brown and juices form, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the broccoli rabe and toss to coat. Add the pasta and enough reserved cooking liquid, 1/4 cup at a time, to moisten. Stir the Parmesan cheese, salt to taste, and pepper into the pasta mixture. Transfer to pasta bowls and serve.
Special note: If you are not on a low carb diet a can of cannelloni beans sautéed with the sausage is a lovely addition. Also, if you really detest rabe, replace it with broccolini or spinach. If you don’t have orecchiette in the pantry, any other small toothsome pasta will do such a penne. The pork sausage can be replaced with chicken sausage but make sure it is spicy chicken sausage and be a tad more generous with your crushed red pepper flakes.
Talk soon, ❤️💕Bernadette
30 responses to “Broccoli Rabe – the unusual appeal of bitter”
Sounds wonderful! Love that you smartly reused the cooking water! I adore the bitter, and broccoli has always been one of my favorites.
Thanks Dorothy, please let me know if you try the recipe.
I will!
It sounds and looks wonderful! I actually enjoy the bitterness of vegetables..bitter gourd is my absolute summer favourite.
angiesrecipes
http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com
I have a tendency to like bitter foods and drinks. Campari is one of my favorite drinks. What is a bitter gourd?
I just don’t love kale. Everything else green is wonderful to me. I just watched Joe Bastianich make a similar pasta with broccoli rabe, but no sausage. Both versions look wonderful!
Mimi, I don’t love kale either. Actually, I can’t stand it. I wonderful if I will live long enough to revisit kale.
Interesting thought!
Hi Bern! Broccoli Rabe is a favorite of mine. Truth be told, I ate it almost everyday of my pregnancies. I will try this recipe this week!!
As always, thank you for sharing! ❤️
I used to hate broccoli, but once I started roasting it with garlic and Parmesan it became a favorite…I don’t think I’ve ever had broccoli rabe, I’ll have to try it!
Jenna
Broccoli rabe is a family favorite her. We tried to grow it but it was never enough!
You are definitely showing your Italian heritage.
So funny how our tastes evolve, isn’t it? Your mother-in-law was a huge fan to eat herself to the hospital! I’m glad you tried it again and found a delicious way to serve it, Bernadette. And you’re right… you can never have enough cheese. Lol. Thanks for the recipe!
You are right, my mother-in-law was a HUGE fan. She would make sandwiches out of it.
That looks spectacular. I wish restaurants weren’t so annoying these days. I’d be out dining on this sort of great food often.
And no–I don’t have the patience to cook it! I wish I did.
Your writing is delightful and that is where you need to put your energy.
But I will entertain an invite… Not that I’m fishing for one!
Jacqui, consider this your invitation. What I need is a recipe and a story and a photo is really appreciated. I work through my email which is newclassicrecipes.com. I look forward to our collaboration.
A question for you: My husband is looking for low-salt recipes laid out like daily menus, that tells him what to eat each day, and then the next. He could pick recipes but he wants one that tells him. And then tells how much salt is in each meal. Is there such a book?
His best bet is to put in a search engine – dash diet meal planner. There are apps that he might like and also different sites offering help.
Good luck
B
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Great idea. I didn’t think of appending “meal planner”. Thanks, Bernadette!
I hope you can find what you need so that he can continue to eat good tasting food that won’t endanger his health.
Bern, I love broccoli rabe, I love sausage and I love pasta. SOLD! This will be on our table sometime this week. I’ll let you know how it turns out! Thanks for another great recipe that makes my mouth water!
Looks spectacular
Thanks so much.
Recipe looks wonderful! Going to give this one a go! 🙂
Many people don’t like broccoli, I just love it! You have got an amazing blog! Loved it
Thank you so much.
funny how our tastes in food and other things can change over time. when i was young, i didn’t like capsicum for instance but i just kept eating it till i loved it! i do like bitter flavours i must say.
Thanks for stopping by Sherry. Capsicum is hot pepper right?