Broccoli Rabe With Caramelized Onions Recipe

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What Is Broccoli Rabe?

Have you ever cooked with broccoli rabe (usually pronounced "rob" or "robbie", also known as rapini)?

It sort of looks like broccolini or Chinese broccoli, with longish stems, small green florets, and lots of leaves.

It's actually more related to turnips than to broccoli, and tastes a little like mustard greens, slightly bitter but more nutty. Slightly bitter, usually that is.

Blanch Broccoli Rabe To Remove Bitterness

The first time I cooked broccoli rabe it must have been really late in the season, because those greens were so bitter none of us (hardened bitter greens eaters that we are) could take more than one bite.

Several chefs I questioned about the bitterness suggested blanching the rabe first to take the edge off the bitterness. So I've done that here, though if you like the bite of rabe, or you are working with tender young plants, you can skip that step.

Close up of fresh broccoli rabe.
Elise Bauer

How To Serve Broccoli Rabe

I also mixed in some slightly caramelized onions, to add some sweetness to balance the bitter of the green. Hmm, all this talk of "bitter", I'm not doing a great job selling you on rabe, am I?

We love greens, and we love this.

Not only did I serve this rabe to my parents and they gobbled it right up, but I had a bunch left over which I ate cold, for lunch, the next day. If something tastes just as good cold as it did hot, you know it's good.

Do you have a favorite way of preparing broccoli rabe? Please let us know about it in the comments.

Tag » How To Cook Broccoli Rabe