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Sautéed Broccoli Rabe With Garlic and Chili Flakes Recipe

Daniel Gritzer
Published: Last Updated:
Saut\u00e9ed Broccoli Rabe With Garlic and Chili Flakes Recipe

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

Broccoli rabe has a bitter edge and sometimes fibrous stalks, both of which are tamed by prolonged cooking. In this classic Italian side dish, the rabe is blanched, then sautéed with olive oil, garlic, and chili pepper flakes until it's well past well-done—at which point it tastes best. It's a recipe that proves that sometimes overcooked vegetables are a very, very good thing.

Why It Works

  • Blanching the rabe first softens it rapidly, cutting down on the overall (over)cooking time.

Read more: The Best Sautéed Broccoli Rabe Is Overcooked Broccoli Rabe

  • Yield:Serves 4 as a side dish
  • Active time: 20 to 30 minutes
  • Total time:20 to 30 minutes
  • Rated: 4.6666666666667

Ingredients

  • Kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • Large pinch red pepper flakes
  • 1 pound (450g) broccoli rabe, ends trimmed

Directions

  1. 1.

    Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat olive oil with garlic over medium heat until garlic just begins to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and toast for about 30 seconds. Remove from heat.

  2. 2.

    Add broccoli rabe to boiling water and cook until thickest parts of stalks are tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain well. Add rabe to skillet, toss well, and return to medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally and lowering heat as necessary to prevent scorching, until rabe is very tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Serve right away, or continue to cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for up to 20 minutes longer before serving (it just gets better and better).

This Recipe Appears In
The Best Sautéed Broccoli Rabe Is Overcooked Broccoli Rabe

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Daniel Gritzer Culinary Director

Daniel cooked for years in some of New York's top American, Italian and French restaurants - starting at the age of 13, when he began staging at the legendary restaurant Chanterelle. He spent nearly a year working on organic farms in Europe, where he harvested almonds and Padron peppers in Spain, shepherded a flock of more than 200 sheep in Italy, and made charcuterie in France. When not working on, thinking about, cooking and eating food, he blows off steam (and calories) as an instructor of capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian martial art.

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