A few days ago I was in the produce department of the store I call The Frou-Frou Market when I noticed a leafy vegetable that reminded me a little of Chinese flowering cabbage. I leaned in closer to read its label, and then recoiled with a shudder and walked away.
“Broccoli rabe.”
You see, the last time I tried broccoli rabe, sometime during the Clinton administration, I found it so bitter that I never wanted to try it again. I was still shuddering at my vague memory of “Bitter Rob” when my gaze fell on several other vegetables that I used to hate: turnip and mustard greens, which I once thought of as bitter, and beets, which tasted like dirt until I started roasting them myself.
The Health-Food Angel on my shoulder whispered that maybe I should give broccoli rabe another chance, so I grabbed one of the green bundles and sped toward the cash register before the Junk Food Devil on my other shoulder could steer me toward the bulk bins of jelly beans.
Broccoli rabe or raab, also known as rapini, looks like a cross between broccoli and young mustard greens, but it’s actually no relation to broccoli at all and closer to turnips than to mustard greens. Sometimes it’s confused with broccolini, which is a new, less-leafy hybrid of broccoli and Chinese broccoli and no relation to broccoli rabe.
The problem with broccoli rabe is that it’s bitter if you cook it briefly like broccoli, which can be a shock when you then expect it to taste like broccoli. I suspect that’s what happened the first time I tried it, but this time around I did my homework and read up on it before I cooked it. I discovered that it’s much less bitter if you boil it briefly before going on to saute it or add it to a recipe.
So I tried pre-boiling it, and just to be sure it was actually edible, I tasted it straight out of the boiling pot: no bitterness. I could have eaten it plain, but then I wouldn’t have had a recipe to show you or bragging rights that within a month, I’ve added two new vegetables to this blog’s archives. Now, if only I could get myself to re-try the dreaded rutabaga!
How to Prepare Broccoli Rabe
A couple of days ago I asked my Facebook followers if they liked broccoli rabe, and I got a lot of enthusiastic yeses as well as some suggestions of how to prepare it. Many of these ideas include oil, so they’re not fat-free, but I think you should be able to leave it out or cut it down to a few drops:
- I like it braised in veggie stock, then sauteed with garlic and onions. –Zoe
- Parboil it for @5-10 min first, then saute in olive oil with garlic & red pepper. The boiling takes away some of the bitterness and then it is delish!! –Dawn
- I love it, heat oil in a pan, add chili flakes and garlic, then toss in cooked orzo and steamed broccoli rabe. Delicious. –Peggy
- love it boiled with olive oil and lemon –Demme
- Blanche then Sauté in olive oil and garlic. Serve with noodles and Cajun tempeh. –Kerry
- NOT very low fat, but it’s awesome blanched then sauteed in a little shallot, garlic and virgin coconut oil. –Shelley
- blanch for 30 secs, the put in a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with hot peppers and grated garlic. Mix into whole wheat pasta. –Rosie
- I often steam it, alone or with other veggies. I also use it in a thick soup, cooking it for the last 15 minutes or so. –Hedy
- I blanch then saute in olive oil with TONS of garlic and crushed pepper. We even love the leftovers cold on sandwiches. –Leslie
- dunk in boiling water to wilt (takes the bitterness out, which steaming does not) and then toss with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and freshly minced garlic. –Rachel
- I have added a little bit of this in raw with a blended salad/soup before and it was very good – added a nice spiciness to it. –Laura
- I like the Veganomicon way with pasta and extra balsamic and red pepper flakes! Although any way will do! –Erika
This recipe is sort of a hybrid of a casserole and a frittata, and because of the boiling of the broccoli rabe and the pre-baking of the potatoes, it’s more complicated than most of my recipes. Feel free to substitute steamed broccoli or kale instead of broccoli rabe or use fresh spinach and avoid the pre-cooking process completely. But your Health-Food Angel insists you at least give broccoli rabe a try. And skip the jelly beans.
Potato and Broccoli Rabe Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound small red potatoes quartered
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup diced roasted red pepper
- 1 pound broccoli rabe
- 12 oz lite firm or extra-firm silken tofu drained (1 package Mori-Nu, 349 g)
- 1/4 cup plain soy milk (60 ml)
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 heaping tablespoon potato starch or cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon raw cashews or 2 tsp. cashew butter (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
- 3/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1/8 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1 teaspoon basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Oil a 2-quart casserole dish. Cut the potatoes into quarters (1/2-inch cubes if they’re large). Place them on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Roast for 15-20 minutes, stirring once, until they are slightly tender and beginning to brown. Remove from oven and transfer to the casserole dish. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the roasted red pepper.
- While the potatoes are baking, prepare the broccoli rabe. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and have ready a large bowl of water and ice. Cut off and discard the broccoli rabe’s thick stems. Chop the leaves and smaller stems into 2-inch pieces. Add about a tablespoon of salt to the boiling water and add the broccoli rabe. Return to a boil and cook until the rabe is tender, about 5 minutes. Drain well and plunge into the prepared ice water. Keep it in the ice water until the potatoes are in the casserole dish. Then, drain the water and dry the greens as best you can (spinning them in a salad spinner helps). Put them on top of the potatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired.
- Place tofu and remaining ingredients in a blender, and puree until very smooth. Pour over the broccoli rabe. Use a spoon to gently open holes through the greens so that the tofu mixture penetrates it. Smooth the top so that tofu layer is even and covers all the rabe.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until liquid has thickened. (Shallow baking dishes will take less time than deep ones.) Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutritional info is approximate.
Nita Ruggiero
I LOVE broccoli rabe – this sounds wonderful – I am going to try this tonight!
Heidi @ Food Doodles
I’ve actually never tried broccoli rabe. I think I’ve only seen it at my local grocery store once, lol. I’ll be watching for it now 🙂
Wendy (Healthy Girl's Kitchen)
This dish looks absolutely delicious and the perfect thing to make when I am bringing a dish to someones house or hosting company. It’s those times when I don’t mind at all putting in the extra effort to make something truly special. Can’t wait to try this out!
Pat
I can taste this already but first I must go food shopping…just want to say that I appreciate how clearly and fully explicit each step in the recipes are in attempts to make novices, like me, understand what I am supposed to be doing. Many Thanks.
Celeste (Porto) Kelsey
I am Italian and laugh at all the “blanching” going on and lack of oil. I simply do a rough chop (not traditional but makes eating easier) and wash in scolapasta, (colander). I have at the ready, a pan large enough to hold the greens raw with as much olive oil as you would like, plenty of minced garlic and red pepper flakes which I “sfri” (how we designated saute). I put the washed greens with all the water clinging to them in the pan – watch the splatter – add salt to taste – lower the heat and put on the lid. Cook to desired degree of doneness. It is my understanding that Italians cook their vegetables well and al-dente vegetables are a new thing. The traditional way we ate broccoli rabe was well cooked dripping with peppery olive oil in an authentic hunk of italian bread. The bitter the better. To die for.
Also, I am a vegan, but am very concerned about anyone trying to rid their diet of fat. The right kind of fat is absolutely necessary for good health, and fat alone will not make you fat – too much of any food will do that.
SusanV
Please read my FAQ’s. Oil-free vegans get plenty of healthy fats, just not processed and unhealthy oils. It’s not about any one food making you fat; it’s about having the healthiest diet possible.
DeeDee
I agree: Although we have reduced our consumption of oil, it is the quality of oil such as extra virgin olive oil (for raw foods), and coconut oil that determine a health benefit. Unlike oils like canola, which contrary to what many believe, is highly toxic to our bodies ( a waste oil). I am reminded by your post of my childhood suffering mouth watering aromas in our Italian kitchen while the main Sunday meal was being prepared. Dunking organic crusty bread into nothing more than a green salad laced with Italian olive oil is how we managed to survive before meal was served. Brave!
SusanV
I totally disagree with you about olive oil and coconut oil. It isn’t the oil that makes olives or coconut healthy but the complete range of nutrients in the whole food. When we extract oil from plants, we throw away all the flavonoids, anti-oxidants, and phytochemicals that fight disease and promote health. When we eat nuts and seeds, we get an entire package of nutrients, not just fat.
Regardless of whether you agree or disagree, this site is designed for people who, often under the orders of their physicians, are following low-fat or oil-free diets. The comments area of a blog is not the place to argue with the philosophy of the blog.
DeeDee
In fact, I subscribe to this site because I am vegan and under nobody’s orders but rather I rely on my own sensibilities, and my
understanding is that supporting another poster’s comments is not defined as arguing. Also, Your reaction does not, as you claim, appear to be “lovingly read.”
Kristina
DeeDee,
Her reply to your comment was simply a statement 0f fact. If you choose to follow your sensibilities and eat foods with processed fats you have every right to do this. There are plenty of alternate recipe sites you can use.
I, among many, am incredibly thankful to SusanV for sharing her fat free vegan recipes with us. This is a blog for fatFREEvegan recipes as the web site shows in its title. If you disagree with fatFREE than use another web page.
If you would actually like to research the subject you can check out the books: The China Study by T. Colin Campbell and Eat to Live by Dr. Fuhrman.
lisa
agree with kristina, and not mention dr. mcdougal and dr. neal barnard, etc. etc. much better to eat our avocados and get the natural whole food. i’m also very very grateful for someone like susan who painstakingly works these recipes to bring us healthier options.
Con Conz
Well when you think about it, oil is a processed man made product. It doesn’t naturally fall out of food for us to eat. And olive oil is probably the nastiest tasting oil in food, with a really low burning point.
laopi
Just one more thing about olive oil (as a spaniard I just can’t shut up about this). Extra virgin olive oil is nothing more that squeezed olives. It has to be done cold, with the olives right off the tree. Otherwise it is not Extra virgin. Thus i wouldn’t consider it a “processed” food, at least not in the terms the food industry uses it. Come to Spain and see how it is done! But then, what you get in the US is probably the nasty italian (or spanish for that matter) mixed oils.
Olive oil, as any oil, is healthy in healthy doses.
Conz
Erm, no, it ain’t. And what I can get in the uk, is the real, nasty, fattening, foul, rubbish.
Amy
Hi! I read the Facebook thread with much interest, but did note that one commenter said that steaming doesn’t remove the bitterness, though others said it helped. Can anyone else give a little more information on this? I’d love to toss some in my steamer instead of blanching because I’m a bit lazy like that (it may just be a mental thing about it seeming like less effort, but it’s also how I’d rather prepare the meal). Thanks in advance for any help!
SusanV
Amy, I suspect that any long cooking will decrease the bitterness, but I haven’t tested out that theory. If you do try, I suggest steaming it until the stems are very tender.
DeeDee
If bitterness is reduced by over cooking, rape’s
nutritional benefit is reduced/lost also. Bitterness is a sign of antioxidants at work. After a while it isn’t noticed, especially when combined with other ingredients.
SusanV
I didn’t say to overcook it; I said to cook it until tender. Many of the greens we eat–turnip, mustard, chard–are cooked until tender before they’re eaten, and they are still packed with nutrition. Granted, steaming is a better option because then the nutrients will not be lost in the water, but there’s always the option of eating the broccoli rabe in the cooking liquid as we do turnip and mustard greens.
Amy
My husband and his family drink the water that the rabe is bloiled in. They do add alittle olive oil, but it’s probably not necessary.
DeeDee
All of us including our feline companions love love love rapini: raw, sauteed, souped up, etc. Whatever bitterness found in this delicacy of a vegetable ( a sure sign of high nutritional benefit), is offset by its satisfying flavor and textures. I will be trying your recipe soon.
Get Skinny, Go Vegan.
Love Broccili Raab! Don’t you just love it when you actually leave the store with just greens and not the agave sweetened whatever, like Coconut Bliss Ice Cream or some other “healthy, non healthy, better than oreos, healthy” treat??
Wish I could do that in ALL my moments of weakness!
Katie
Thanks! This looks awesome! Broccoli rabe is one of my husband and my favorite veggies, but I don’t have many recipes that use it! (I usually just boil, rinse with ice water and then sautee with oil and lemon juice). I will need to try this one, soon!
Elessar Tetramariner
Susan…if I can find broccoli rabe, I will try this. It does not make me flinch, I just don’t know when and where to find it to try it. Yet, I am dutifully going to save your recipe against the day I can try it. Meanwhile, I have become very interested in kimchee/kimchee/gimchee, etc. Fascinating how kimchee is made so differently in such a small country’s regions (compared to America. We need to email to talk strategy, as it is totally vegan and oh yes you can make it spicy and fish- & meat-free. Think of it as pickled cabbage with glorious other vegetables.
JoLynn-dreaminitvegan
I’m so glad you tried broccoli rabe again, my family and I love it!
It tastes wonderful lightly sauteed with shallots and garlic. Yum!
Alexandra
This recipe looks awesome, I am going to make it tonight!
Do I need to boil it if I use kale instead? Also, I just have regular extra firm tofu (not silken), do you think that will work okay?
SusanV
I would either steam or lightly sauté the kale first so that it will be tender. As for the tofu, I haven’t used regular tofu, and I’m afraid that it might not blend as smoothly as silken. You could try adding more liquid, but please don’t blame me if it doesn’t set right. 🙂
Alexandra
Thanks, I’ll let you know how it turns out. 🙂
Melomeals: Vegan for $3.33 a Day
This looks amazing!
Mary (What's Cookin' with Mary)
I love casseroles! Casserole leftovers are the best. I have never actually tried broccoli rabe, but have seen it at the store lots… I always heard that it was bitter and was afraid to try it out. I’m thinking if it’s prepared correctly (at home), this wouldn’t happen.
I’m acutally making a casserole for dinner tonight too 😉
-M
Kristi Link
I am going to try this tonight. I don’t have Rapini at home, but I do have brussels sprouts and broccoli and potatoes. Looks like a hearty dish that my hubby will love.
Christopher Kandrat
A pretty good dish, I recommend it.
Amy
I love boccoli rabe. I hated it when I first tried it for the same reason you mentioned, but now it is my favorite veggie! I can’t wait to try this. Is there any substitution for the tofu? My husband is allergic to soy, but is able to tolerate it in small amounts and I would prefer not to use it.
sweet road
This looks like one of those great meals for anytime of day. It has breakfast, lunch, and dinner appeal!
Kathleen @ KatsHealthCorner
Wow. I’ve never heard of a Broccoli Rabe before. Haha, it does look like a cross between Broccoli and Mustard Greens. 🙂 That’s crazy that’s its not even a broccoli relative! 🙂
Your recipes are THE BEST! Thank you so much for all of the effort you put into each and every one of them! 🙂
xoxo
Kathleen
lisa
hooray!! rapini is my all-time favorite veggie!!! thank you!!!!!!
lisa
… oh, rapini is what my nana always called it, must be the italian word.
lisa
i finally read through your article. interesting. we have always just sauteed rapini in a bit of olive oil with some chopped tomatoes. i never thought about it being bitter b/c we are just so used to the taste. maybe we’re bitter people 😉
lisa
Susan… 2 questions… did you daughter like it? and do you think it would work with sweet potatoes to be a tad healthier? thanks
SusanV
Lisa: E thought she was going to hate it, but mixed with tofu and potatoes, she ate it without complaint. I don’t know if that means she liked it, but she did tolerate it. 🙂
I don’t see any reason why sweet potatoes wouldn’t work. They might provide a unique flavor. It you try using them, please let me know what you think.
lisa
thanks, i will try it. seems my son and your daughter have similar tastes so i rely on her input 😉
Angela
Hi Susan! This casserole looks delicious. I just wanted to second the poster who was going to try it with sweet potatoes. I’m not sure how it would be in this casserole, but as a general rule, I love eating sweet potatoes and rabe in the same meal. The smooth sweet potatoes with the slightly bitter (in a good way) rabe is such a good combination.
I also wanted to pass on a little rutabaga inspiration for the future. I’ve never eaten them straight, but I tried them in the recipe below with mashed potatoes and topped with a roasted pear puree. It’s amazing! The recipe actually calls for turnips, but I didn’t know the difference at first so I used rutabagas and it turns out I like this recipe MUCH better with rutabagas than turnips. I know it calls for butter (I used vegan butter because I was making it for a Christmas feast for non-veggies), but I’d bet it would still be good without butter, especially since the roasted pear puree is so flavorful.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mashed-Potatoes-and-Turnips-with-Roasted-Pear-Puree-231102
Fat Fudge
I put them in a green smoothie. I just bought some from the Farmer’s Market and they’re not at all bitter.
Kristina
Hi Susan V,
Thank you so much for sharing this yummy sounding recipe!!!
I have been wanting to get on here to post how grateful I am and excited to see that you have decided to make your recipes all fat free. Seems like my timing is perfect because there are people on here criticizing you for doing it. Anyway we aren’t all uneducated about the matter and some of us choose this blog because it is fat free. If they want a full fat vegan recipe there are plenty of other sites they can go to!!! By the way they probably wont read this but wanted to mention a couple resources: The China Study by T. Colin Campbell and Eat to Live by Dr. Fuhrman. Thanks for making your recipes available to all of us!!!
Summer
Thank you so much for this recipe! I have a ton of Broccoli Rabe in my garden and haven’t really been too sure on how to prepare it, so this is great. I will definitely be making this casserole on Sunday. It’ll make the perfect Sunday night dinner and looks like it will also be delicious for lunch Monday morning. I just got bento sets for my entire family from Laptop Lunches, so I’ve been having a lot of fun stretching my leftovers into lunch time feasts and this is sure to be a winner!
Dawn
Yay!!! I have wanted to try this vegetable for a while, but was too lazy to investigate how to prepare it. This post clears it up for me. And somehow anything combined with potatoes is just homey and comforting. Thanks again for all your great recipes.
saniel
I just made this..it was pretty good! I didn’t have broccoIi rabe so I used regular brocolli . Added some non-chix stock to flavor tofu mix along with rice cheese allergic to nutritional yeast. I realized I didn’t add the corn starch so I whisked a tablespoon in with the sauce. I just pulled it from the oven and the potatoes are crisp not to mushy and very flavorful..Thank you
danielle
This looks amazing! i will have to give this a try for sure !!!!
One thing i did want to pass on though is that in fact almost ALL of the vitamins in the brocolli rabe will be lost in the boiling water…even if not overcooked. This is just due to the fact that that a lot of vitamins, like vitamin c, are water soluble…so it’s inevitable that while we wash and boil our veggies that we will lose them. And many studies show that about 97% of vitamin c, for instance, gets lost in boiling water! Soo that leaves steaming as a much healthier option.
Just wanted to pass that info on to anyone who is curious (I’m a student majoring in nutrition so I have come to find this info out for myself).
Love your recipes though Susan! Thank you !!!
SusanV
Thanks for the info, Danielle! I’ve never been a big fan of boiling, but I hope that there are some phytonutrients and all those nutrients that we don’t even have names for that are still left in the vegetable. But to be sure to get them all, steaming is a great option (or just using the boiling water as broth in your next soup).
Shvetha
Hi Susan,
Just wanted to share the usual way we eat rutabaga– it actually tastes pretty great when oven-roasted with some olive oil and salt (I like to add fiery chilly powder for heat). Go on, give it a go, and make your Health-Food Angel happy (so she’ll be distracted enough to let you slip the jelly beans)!
Laurie Angelone
Thanks for the innovative recipe, Susan! I just made this, but I didn’t have broccoli rabe. I had broccoflower. So, I just roasted the broccoflower with the potatoes and skipped the rabe step. It turned out great! A lovely breakfast dish on a rainy Saturday morning.
Kellie
This was really good! The tofu mix was great since it provided a good texture. Next time I’ll probably make a bit more of the tofu sauce and mix it with the potatoes and veg and then pour some more on top. I think this would also be delicious with carrots, onion, cauliflower, kale or many other wintery veggies if you wanted to sub something for the broccoli rabe.
Jacqui
I just came across your blog and happened to have everything for this and made it for lunch today! It was fantastic! Thanks so much!
Mrsflex
Thanks for another great recipe. I actually used regular broccoli because the supermarket was out of broccoli rabe 🙁 I will try it with that next time. I also added 1 tsp of white miso to the sauce instead of adding salt. Delicious! ~Leslie
RunLonger
I tried the rabe once, and found it terribly bitter, but I didn’t know about boiling it first! Now I’m psyched to give it another try. About the rutabaga, roast it, roast it, roast it. Then eat it cubed – not mashed to try to make yourself think it’s like mashed potatoes. I just had rutabaga in this recipe—http://dev.cuesa.org/recipe/thai-roasted-root-vegetable-curry—which has your parsnips too, and it was lovely. (And I never liked it before!)
kensington cooker
Hi Susan,
For some reason I have not been able to read any comments that have been added since March 3rd. I know they have been coming in, from the comment count and the “Recent Comments” list. But I can’t see any of them. Usually I avidly read all comments, so I’m having a few withdrawal symptoms! Can you help? I might not be able top read your reply but just so you know.
Thank you, Kensington Cooker
kesnington cooker
Woops! I see that in fact I am able to see the more recent comments. The March 3rd comment shows up at the bottom with the later ones above it. But I see them now. I apologize. Please disregard my earlier post and I will go back to avidly reading.
Thanks, Kensington Cooker
SusanV
I’m glad you figured it out because I was stumped! 🙂
Weisserose
Happy Women´s Day! 🙂
In my country (Portugal) we eat rabe simply wilted with garlic, no water except the one that remains in the leaves after washing it, with a drizzle of olive oil, as a side dish. Some people like it well-done (more wilted), others almost raw. Some peolpe eat only the leaves and the “flowers” with the tender stems, other eat everything including the longer stems. Also it is used in soups and on rice pilaf. But yes, it has a peculiar taste and it´s not for everyone´s palate. If you boil it longer, as in a soup, it will not taste bitter.
Where I live now, there is no rabe to be seen! 🙁 But on the other hand there´s plenty of rutabaga! 😉
Here some suggestions:
http://www.affairsofliving.com/imported-20100106014405/2010/10/28/the-ravishing-rutabaga-or-its-not-a-turnip-people-four-recip.html
Hope you can enjoy.
Best regards from Germany,
IR
anna
i agree about broccoli rabe! it is hard to say that I don’t like a vegetable being vegetarian and this is one that comes close! I think obviously it is good in the classic dish orecchiette but you gave me some great ideas! I need to stick to my pugliese roots. nice blog!
Denise
I am of Italian descent and my mother and I both love broccoli rabe so much that we would eat it for dessert. Since no one else in my family likes it, I am fortunate to have my mother give me some when she cooks it (traditionally, with garlic and olive oil, except now she is making mine without the olive oil.) Blanching it is key to mellow the bitterness, but bitter is good at a reasonable level.
Thank you for the great recipes.
Becky
My family ate this with broccoli tonight, (no rabe to be found this week) and it was great! My picky guy (8yo) even said, “This is kinda yummy.”
Nyinpgh
Just tried this & it is fantastic! I like my potatoes well done, though, so next time around I’ll be pre-roasting them for a bit longer. I just went back to doing the McDougall program again, so I was pretty excited to come across your site this week. This is already in my recipe box- thanks