Day 338: Broccoli Rabe with Peppers ♥

How to cook the slightly peppery leafy green called "broccoli raab" or "broccoli rabe" or some times "rapini" with slices of red pepper. Red and green is so pretty!

Sometimes you wonder if 2 + 2 adds up to 4.

2: When I checked the index of How to Cook Everything for a simple treatment for broccoli rabe, I noticed it read "broccoli raab (rape)" ... hmm, rapeseed?

2: See the pretty yellow flowers that were all abud in the broccoli rabe from the grocery? It reminded me of July's undulating fields of brilliant yellow in the northern reaches of Minnesota and the prairies of southern Manitoba ... hmmm, fields of rapeseed for canola oil? (And oh-so-gorgeous when the next fields are ablue with flax.)

Equals 4?: Is broccoli raab the "leafy green" of the canola plant? This piece from the San Francisco Chronicle sorts it out. The short answer is "no" but the two do share the same (ahem) genetic roots. Sometimes 2+2 adds up to 3 1/2 but not 4.

NUTRITION NOTES After last week's sausage and broccoli rabe over-the-top-indulgence, I was starved for something very green and very simple. Plain fare, this met the test. It's low-carb and low-calorie and easy and alive tasting.

BROCCOLI RABE RECIPES! March is "broccoli rabe month" here at A Veggie Venture, or as StephenCooks calls it a Broccoli Rabe Festival. Whether you call this wonderful leafy green "broccoli rabe" or "broccoli raab" or "rapini", please do join in! There's a running round-up of recipe ideas – your contributions, new and archived and just plain recipes, are most welcome!

RECIPE for BROCCOLI RABE with PEPPERS

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Time to table: 10 minutes
Serves 4 small servings

JUST FIVE INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon bacon grease (for flavor, or use another oil)
1 red pepper, sliced or diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 large bunches broccoli rabe, washed well, thick stems trimmed and discarded
Salt and pepper to taste

Before starting to cook, rinse the broccoli raab really well. Cut off and discard the thick stems, tear the leaves into bite-size pieces.

In a large, deep skillet, heat the bacon grease on MEDIUM HIGH until shimmery. Add the peppers, stirring to coat with fat, cook them quickly, taking off just a touch of rawness. Add the garlic and stir for a few seconds. Add the broccoli rabe, in batches if need be, and let cook for 5 - 6 minutes until fully cooked but still bright green. Season generously with salt and pepper, serve and enjoy!

ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
HOW MUCH TO BUY? Broccoli raab is 75% stem and 25% green. It takes two full untrimmed pounds to yield a half pound of edible greens.
CAN YOU COOK THE STEMS? Sure! You "can" cook the stems, they just take longer. Cut them away from the leaves and chop 'em up, then saut´ on their own until tender. Then continue with the recipe. Whether you "want" to cook the stems is another matter. Some are fairly tender. Others are woody and fibrous, to my mind, that means they hit the compost bowl pronto.
ASIAN SAUCES The inspiring recipe called for 1/4 cup of oyster sauce stirred in at the end. I didn't like that, not one bit! So when I remade it a second time, I skipped the sauce entirely. And ... it missed a little something. To stay within the Asian-ish theme, I stirred in a little of a sweet Indonesian sauce called "kecap manis sedang" – good! Hoisin sauce would work, so would a little mirin or a tiny bit of soy sauce and sesame oil. Play around!

Adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. Honestly, I don't love this book. It always seems to me as if the recipes aren't really tested, often leave open important questions.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Serving: 63 Calories; 1g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 1mg Cholesterol; 67mg Sodium; 7g Carb; 3g Fiber; NetCarb4; 5g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS Old Points 1 & PointsPlus 1

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MORE FAVORITE BROCCOLI RAAB RECIPES

~ Potato, Cabbage & Rapini Colcannon ~
~ more broccoli raab recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Meatball Soup with Broccoli Rabe ~
~ Turkey Orzo Soup with Lemon & Spinach ~
~ more broccoli raab recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

SEASONAL EATING: THIS SAME WEEK ACROSS THE YEARS

Mâche with Orange Cumin Dressing Cook’s Illustrated Foolproof Oven-Baked Brown Rice Broccoli Rabe with Peppers Cabbage Sprouts Pride of Erin Soup (< this week's St. Patrick's Day favorite!) Wine-Glazed Brussels Sprouts Alsatian Cabbage The Danger of Convenience: Birdseye Steamfresh Frozen Vegetables Potato & Poblano Pepper Gratin Farm Pie with Whole Wheat & Lard Crust Swedish Pickled Beetroot Salad Parsnip Pear Purée Chayote Soup with a Kick Baked Sweet Potatoes Beer-Soaked Crispy Baked Fries Spinach Pancakes Crazy-Good Cooked Cabbage

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the
famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

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