Name: Sautéed Broccoli Rabe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 700 g broccoli rabe, trimmed; 4 tbsp olive oil; 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; ½ tsp chilli flakes; ½ tsp salt; 1 tbsp lemon juice

Sautéed Broccoli Rabe

Broccoli rabe blanched for 2 minutes and sautéed for 6 minutes with plenty of garlic, chilli and olive oil, with a squeeze of lemon.

20 min total Serves 4 servings Easy

Why Sautéed Broccoli Rabe Works

Most people give up on broccoli rabe because of the bitterness, and a short blanch in well-salted water is the fix. Two minutes in boiling water takes the sharp edge off and turns the stems tender, so the greens finish in the pan rather than stewing there. Bitterness can be tamed.

Trim the woody ends and cut the stalks into pieces about 5 cm long. Drop them into plenty of boiling salted water and cook for two minutes, then drain and cool quickly in cold water to hold the green colour. Squeeze the greens dry in a clean cloth. Wet greens spit in hot oil and never brown.

Warm the olive oil in a wide pan with sliced garlic and chilli flakes, taking care not to let the garlic colour beyond pale gold, since burnt garlic is bitter, too. Add the greens, toss until glossy and hot through, then season and finish with lemon juice. It is excellent with sausages or on a crusty roll. Add the lemon last.

What to Put on the Table With Sautéed Broccoli Rabe

Italian sausages
Pasta
Crusty bread
Grilled chicken

How to Cook Sautéed Broccoli Rabe

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Boil the broccoli rabe in a large pot of salted water for 2 minutes. Drain, cool in cold water and squeeze dry.
Heat the oil in a wide pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for 1 minute until pale gold.
Add the broccoli rabe and cook, turning, for 6 minutes until tender and glossy.
Season with the salt and lemon juice and serve hot.

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A Few Notes

Blanch in well-salted water to tame the bitterness.

Squeeze the greens dry so they sauté rather than steam.

Take the garlic off the heat at the first sign of colour.

Ingredient Swaps

An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Keeping What's Left

Keeps for 3 days in the fridge. Reheat in a pan.