You Might Actually Enjoy Broccoli Rabe If You Cook It Right.
Broccoli Rapina is a two-faced asshole. Perhaps you ate it at a restaurant and fell in love with the tannins and texture of the broccoli and spinach kale. You are not alone. You’re also not alone if you later try to make it at home and find that it’s completely inedible. Betrayal hurts almost as much as bitterness. Unlike other bitter greens you may have cooked, rapini has a dark secret. It tastes like crap unless you blanch it.
When cooked properly, broccoli rapini spoils completely. Its inherent bitterness is incredible with salty, hard cheeses and pairs well with garlic and chili flakes, but you can’t just throw it in the pan like kale or arugula. It’s bittersweet, but nice. They can be eaten raw in a salad to sharpen the taste buds. However, raw broccoli rabe is tough as hell. America’s Test Kitchen explains how two naturally occurring components of broccoli, myrosinase and the extremely bitter glucosinolate, can combine during cutting and chewing to form even more bitter isothiocyanates. Blanching in boiling water is an easy way to ensure that less of these bitter compounds reach your palate, and it works like a charm. Although ATK believes that blanching broccoli rabeni can make it too soft, I disagree.
How to Make the Best Broccoli Rapini
ATK recommends cutting vegetables less during cooking to avoid the formation of isothiocyanates, but you’ll still end up chewing them and those bitter compounds will still interact. Maybe it’s just me, or maybe New York broccoli rapini is just really bitter (that’s true here), but blanching is a necessary step to improving rapini. My method involves coarse chopping and blanching, which reduces bitterness while providing the best texture. The signature aroma of the plant will relax you in the best possible way, but will remain intact.
Bring a medium to large saucepan of water to a boil. Start by peeling the rapini. Trim off dry ends and slimy or damaged leaves. Place a few on a cutting board and cut them into two-inch pieces. Place an ice bath (a bowl of cold water and ice cubes) nearby.
As soon as the water boils, salt it. I usually use about a teaspoon of sea salt. Place the rapini in the boiling water, using a slotted spoon to blanch thoroughly. Blanch the vegetables for just 30-40 seconds. Use tongs to remove the rapini and immediately plunge into the ice bath. If you want to retain a little more bitterness, you can use this method , which is an even gentler method of blanching.
The broccoli rabe will be bright, dark green, softened but far from mushy, and that intense bitterness will be tested. Roast less bitter greens to finish cooking and add flavor. I like to use lots of oil, garlic, crushed chili flakes and salt. Serve it as a side dish, put it on sandwiches, or add it to pasta with plenty of Pecorino Romano.