Eatingwells Lamb And Root Vegetable Stew With Gremolata
Lamb and Root Vegetable Stew with Gremolata is excerpted from EATINGWELL SOUPS © 2018 by Meredith Corporation. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Active: 35 minutes | Cook: 4 ½ hours , 8 ½ hours | Equipment: 5- to 6-quart slow cooker
Gremolataan herb garnish traditionally made with lemon, parsley and garlicis the classic finish for osso buco . It adds bright flavor to the luxuriously rich dish. This version made with orange instead of lemon does the same for this hearty lamb stew.
Whats The Difference Between Broccoli Rabe And Broccolini
Broccoli rabe is very similar in name and appearance to Broccolini, which is a hybrid cross between regular broccoli and Chinese broccoli. Its green with long stalks, small florets, and maybe a few leaves attached, and tends to be fairly sweet in flavor.
Broccoli rabe, on the other hand, is actually not in the broccoli family but is in the turnip family, and it has thinner stalks and lots of leaves. Its worth double checking the sign at the grocery store if youre not sure if its broccoli rabe or Broccolini.
How To Saut Broccoli Rabe
When sautéing broccoli rabe, I like to load up on strong flavorings like garlic and red pepper flakes. For a bunch of broccoli rabe, three cloves of garlic may seem like a lot, but that strong flavor really complements the little bit of bitterness left in the greens. Cook the sliced garlic and red pepper flakes in a good glug of olive oil, then toss in the blanched broccoli rabe and some salt and sauté until well-coated and fragrant. Dont forget to serve with lemon wedges for squeezing the brightness of the juice balances out some of the earthiness in the broccoli rabe. Eat as a side dish, stuff into a sausage hoagie, toss with pasta, or even use it to top pizza.
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How To Cook Broccoli Rabe: The Very Best Method
Have you ever had broccoli rabe? This Mediterranean member of the brassica family is also known as rapini, and it tends to show up in a lot of Italian recipes, often paired with sausage and pasta. This green vegetable can be more nutty and bitter in flavor than broccoli, but cooked the right way, broccoli rabe is tender, flavorful, and worth grabbing a bunch of from the farmers market or grocery store produce aisle.
Theres an easy trick to tempering its signature bitterness, and it can be quickly sautéed with some other strong flavors into a delicious, versatile side dish that can be paired with rich meats or seafood. Heres how to do it.
How Long To Blanch Broccoli And Broccoli Rabe
Broccoli – Photo by Jean Fernandine on Pixabay
Before getting down to learn how to blanch broccoli and broccoli rabe, its important to consider advised times and temperatures for a food product so that you can successfully pull it off.
This is because over-blanching can lead to an excessive loss of nutrients and aromatic compounds, as well as softening of the food. Blanching at temperatures or times lower than those recommended may not effectively inactivate all enzymes.
Whats more, this may also cause the release of more enzymes from the plant tissue, which results in faster spoiling of the product. You can cook for 2 to 3 minutes in boiling water in order to successfully blanch broccoli.
The broccoli should be bright green and just barely tender. If you steam the broccoli, expect it to finish within five minutes. On the other hand, blanching rabe will only take time for about 30 seconds. Its because a rabe is the type of leafy greens, so we cant cook it for too long.
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Instant Pot Thai Green Curry With Broccoli Rabe And Chicken
This Instant Pot Thai Green Curry comes together in the pressure cooker as a quick, easy and healthy dinner idea thats ready in just 30 minutes!
Recipe by The Girl on Bloor
Canadian blogger Taylor Stinson is the founder of The Girl on Bloor. Her blog explores the cosmopolitan side of eating in by creating easy, healthy and tasty recipes for busy people on the go.
Serves:
- 2 chicken breasts, diced into 1-inch cubes
- 2-3 Tbsp store-bought green curry paste
- 1 8-oz can full-fat coconut milk
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 bulb fennel, sliced into 2-inch pieces
- 3 medium-sized russet potatoes, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 bunch broccoli rabe, ends trimmed
- 2 cups cooked jasmine rice
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 Tbsp sesame seeds
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What Can I Add To Broccoli To Make It Taste Better
Nothing is worse than a plate of under-seasoned vegetables. This is one of the reasons, many people dont like eating them.
If you want your veggies taste good, you need to season them right. Cooked Instant pot broccoli will taste bland if you serve it as is. For that reason, its important to add some flavor to it.
A generous pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper are a must. To bring it to a whole new level, I recommend drizzling the broccoli florets with olive oil and sprinkling some dried oregano over. Give everything a good mix and serve!
Also, make sure you serve this instant pot broccoli while still warm. It tastes way better than cold one!
Serving suggestions:
What Are The Health Benefits Of Broccoli Rabe
As quoted from Healthline.com:
Broccoli can be eaten cooked or raw both are perfectly healthy but provide different nutrient profiles. Still, raw or cooked, broccoli is an excellent source of vitamin C. Just half a cup of cooked broccoli provides 84% of the reference daily intake more than one-half orange can offer
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What Is The Difference Between Broccoli And Broccoli Rabe
Everything. Broccoli has thick stalks that are topped with large florets. It tends to be mildly bitteralthough some broccoli, especially frozen broccoli, can be bland.
Broccoli rabe is a leafy vegetable with thin stalks and a few buds here and there. Those buds tend to resemble broccoli but, all in all, they dont really taste like broccoli.
How To Trim And Prep Broccoli
The beautiful thing about broccoli is that pretty much the whole thing is edible, so with a little knowledge and conscientious prep, nothing goes to waste. Most people focus on the flowers, and with good reason they have a pleasant texture and absorb sauces like sponges, turning them into little green flavor bombs. Sadly, this means that many home cooks toss out the stalk, which is super flavorful and crunchy.
The stalk is usually covered in a thick, pithy layer. All you have to do is use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to remove some of the tougher outer layer. Keep in mind that this layer of the broccoli stalk gets thinner and more tender the closer you get to the flowers, so you dont need to shave off the outer layers more than halfway up the stalk.
You can then cut the broccoli from top to bottom to create what are called spears. Alternatively, you can remove the stalk and reserve it to for another dish, making your head of broccoli good for two meals! Once you’ve removed stem, turn the broccoli upside down to rest on the crown and slice downwards through the florets, rotating as you go.
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Joe Shows Me How To Cook Broccoli Rabe To Perfection
Joe Riti is not a trained chef, but I am not exaggerating when I tell you he is a master of Italian cooking. One of the things I am always incredibly amazed at is how effortlessly Joe seems to throw together the most delicious food in enormous quantities in record time. All while keeping the kitchen immaculately clean.
Many of the classic dishes Joe prepares are actually surprisingly healthy and based on very simple, super fresh ingredients. His recipe for broccoli rabe is no exception. It is really very basic and surprisingly easy to make. But when I tell you it is truly the best tasting, I am not exaggerating. Its amazing and quite versatile too.
A Little About Broccoli Rabe
Here are a few fun facts about broccoli rabe, to get us started!
- Broccoli rabe is actually not broccoli. Its more closely related to a turnip than broccoli . However, theyre all part of the same larger family called cruciferous vegetables. That family includes kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli, among others.
- Rabe is pronounced Rob. Yep, just like a guys name!
- Its popular in Italian cuisine: the Italian name is rapini. You might find it in cuisine like pasta, sauteed with sausage, on a pizza or sandwich, or in soups and stews.
- The flavor is pretty bitter. As we noted up front: if you dont like bitter flavors, stay away from broccoli rabe! If youre ok with bitter, youll like this recipe. Broccoli rabe is also nice offset with some sweeter, savory or tangy flavors.
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How Do You Clean And Cut Rapini
First, cut the rapini 2-3 times while its still in the rubber bands or twist ties that hold it together in a bunch. It makes it easier to cut and handle while its still in a bunch. Its also easier to remove the brown ends of the stem, if you wish.
Then, remove the rubber bands or twist ties from the rappini.
Next, remove any yellow leaves and trash them.
Then, add the rapini to a bowl of water. Let it sit in there for a few minutes and then drain it. Or, you can rinse it well in a colander.
Cooking Broccoli In An Instant Pot
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What Is Broccoli Rabe
According to Wikipedia:
Rapini or broccoli rabe is a green cruciferous vegetable, with the leaves, buds, and stems all being edible the buds somewhat resemble broccoli but do not form a large head. Rapini is known for its slightly bitter taste and is particularly associated with Mediterranean cuisine.
How To Cook Broccoli Rabe
I like getting the garlic oil started first. I use 6-8 cloves of garlic for the broccoli rabe. It may seem like a lot, and it is, but the garlic gets gently heated in the oil and gets nice and caramelized and sweet. Feel free to cut back the garlic a bit, but Im telling you that a lot is the authentic way to make it.
The sliced garlic and some red pepper flakes go into a skillet along with olive oil. After those things are in the pan, then you turn on the heat. This way it works up nice and gently and the garlic gets golden and delicious. This process usually takes 5-10 minutes.
I like to trim off a little bit of the stem ends, then slice the broccoli rabe into 2-inch lengths. I put it into boiling water for just 2-3 minutes before draining it and adding it to the skillet with the garlic.
Once the broccoli rabe is finished cooking, youre ready to enjoy!
Broccoli rabe is great as a side dish. Theres an Italian restaurant near my house that does grilled chicken with broccoli rabe thats outstanding. I even made a Chicken and Broccoli Rabe Pizza with Alfredo Sauce as a tribute to that very dish!
This recipe would be great served alongside something like pan-seared salmon, and its also great mixed in with pasta and olive oil.
You could even make it one component of a hearty bowl-style meal!
A big ol batch of this garlicky broccoli rabe disappears really quickly in my house, and it got the stamp of approval from my Italian husband and his parents. Woohoo!
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Instant Pot Orecchiette With Broccoli Rabe And Sausage
On our recent cross-country journey from Seattle to Florida in Pernell, we aimed to be as self-contained as possible, avoiding restaurants and restricting shopping trips as much as possible. I filled the fridge with a weeks worth of meals before we left by cooking meals ahead that could easily be reheated in the microwave, consumed right out of the fridge or cooked quickly in one pan.
Simple Instant Pot recipes fit this criteria, and a favorite is orecchiette pasta or lambs ear because of its shape. With few, easy to transport ingredients and quick prep, this dish has become a favorite on and off the road. It is pure comfort and nourishing, featuring a super vegetable in broccoli rabe, also known as rapini, high in vitamins A, C, and K as well as calcium and iron.
Although not vegetarian as prepared by me, its easy to make it vegan, and Ive listed alternative ingredients to do that.
Serves 2 generously.
This recipe can be doubled for a 6 quart Instant Pot. Cooking times remain the same.
How Do You Cook Broccoli Rabe
My preferred method of cooking broccoli rabe is to first blanch it in salted water. After blanching, drain the broccoli rabe, and then sauté in olive oil with a generous amount of garlic. Add red pepper flakes if you like. Season with salt to taste. It sounds odd but broccoli rabe tastes best a little overcooked. Cook it until its really soft and tender.
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Quick Pressure Release Is Essential
The caveat to the Instant Pot is that it can overcook some tender vegetables. For this recipe, we do a 0 minute cook time with a quick pressure release. The broccoli cooks while the pot comes to pressure, and while the pressure is released. It’s absolutely crucial that you do a quick pressure release, or your broccoli will end up overcooked and soggy.
Peanut Broccoli Rabe Stir
Nutty, crunchy and yes its slightly bitter
Besides blooming flowers, sprouting green leaves, chirping birds and drizzling rain, another good thing about spring is that I get to see and buy a lot of variety of greens at farmers market or at regular grocery stores. The view of fresh greens itself is soothing and refreshing to my eyes. Every time I go to the farmers market, I get astonished to see new varieties of greens that I have never seen or tasted before. Last weekend, I came across rabe rapini which has vibrant green leaves with green buds which closely resembles to broccoli florets. I had no idea how it would taste nor its origin, yet I bought it as I love to try new veggies.
From Wiki, I learned that these greens are quite common in the cuisines of Southern Italy and China and are related to turnip family. It has a nutty, bitter and pungent flavor. I wasnt that happy to read about the bitter part. Nevertheless, I did give it a whirl.
I stir fried the rabe rapini along with garlic, small onions and flavored it with soy sauce, finished it off with sesame seeds and peanuts. I wouldnt say that it was totally bitter free, but the addition of brown sugar did help to cover up the bitterness to an extend. The truth is that it is a good source of Vitamin A, C, K, potassium, calcium and iron, may be this will encourage you to try this green.
Peanut Rabe Rapini Stir Fry
Ingredients:
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How To Cook Broccoli Rabethe Quick Way
Alex and I did lots of research on the best way to cook broccoli rabe. Most sources blanch it in boiling water to remove the bitterness, then saute it for a long time. As we often do, we wonderedis there a simpler way to do this? We came across the Cooks Illustrated A New Way to Cook Broccoli Rabe, which suggested broiling this veggie for a few minutes would do the trick. We tried it, and it worked! Heres what to do:
- Chop off the tough stems of the broccoli rabe .
- Mix with olive oil and salt, and a little garlic powder.
- Broil for about 4 minutes total! 2 minutes, then stir and another 2 minutes until wilted and cooked through.
- Stir in lemon ! Serve immediately.
Want to learn to cook more vegetables? Go to How to Cook Vegetables.
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