Stewed broccoli rabe or rapini as they are called in Calabria. If you have no idea how to clean and cook broccoli rabe, you are in the right place. This is the basic recipe to prepare broccoli rabe, a very simple recipe that enhances the flavor and requires few ingredients, a nice fresh bunch of broccoli rabe just harvested, with the little broccoli on the tip, chili pepper, garlic, and olive oil, a little salt for seasoning. In fact, these few ingredients are enough to enhance the taste of broccoli rabe, or friarielli as called in Naples, making broccoli rabe one of the most delicious dishes that can be enjoyed from the beginning of autumn to spring. I love broccoli rabe, I eat them at least once a week when the season starts, this is undoubtedly my favorite vegetable, and then it takes very little to prepare delicious dishes, using as the main ingredient the stewed broccoli rabe, also perfect for preparing delicious orecchiette with broccoli rabe, but not only orecchiette, so let’s see how to prepare them while I tell you how to serve them.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients for 4 people Calabrian-style Stewed Broccoli Rabe
- 3.3 lbs broccoli rabe
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 chili peppers
- to taste olive oil
- to taste salt
- 1 1/2 glass water
Tools to Prepare Stewed Broccoli Rabe
- Pan – non-stick (large) with lid
- Bowl
- Wooden spoons
Preparation of Stewed Broccoli Rabe
First, we clean the broccoli rabe. We break the stem with our hands from where it’s tender; the hard part is to be discarded. We detach all the larger leaves, leaving only the smaller ones. We tear the large, tender, and green leaves from the stem, break the stem, and use only the tender part. It’s important to use tender parts, not yellowed and hard leaves.
We put them a few at a time in a bowl and wash them well with fresh water, optionally with a bit of baking soda dissolved in the water, but it’s not essential since we will cook them.
In a pan we put sliced garlic, minced chili pepper, and olive oil, slightly heat and add the washed broccoli rabe.
We add a pinch of salt, not too much, and also add the water, cover, and bring our stewed broccoli rabe to cook, on low heat from boiling, for about 20-25 minutes, stirring at least once during cooking.
After 20-25 minutes, check the cooking; if the broccoli rabe is tender, we can remove the lid and raise the heat, thus drying the broccoli rabe. At this stage, keep an eye on the broccoli rabe on the fire, to prevent them from burning, running out of water. It’s important to dry them well, so they become more flavorful.
Serve our delicious stewed broccoli rabe hot and steaming when they are tender and completely dry. Great accompanied with roasted sausage, or to use for seasoning pasta, or to stuff a pizza, or a focaccia, also delicious are the stuffed calzones with broccoli rabe.
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