Rapini Stir-Fry with Noodles
When it comes to produce, I’m a big fan of the “two-fer” deals: you buy beets with the greens attached and you get two veggies for the price of one, you buy one papaya and get fruit + edible garnishing seeds for the price of one. Rapini (or broccoli rabe, as it’s often called) is another great twofer vegetable. It’s also easy to keep crisp and crunchy because you can treat it like a fresh herb — put it in a vase/glass of cold water, loosely cover it with plastic wrap or a plastic produce bag, and keep it in your fridge for up to ten days.
To Americans, rapini is a mysterious, crinkly, is-it-broccoli-or-is-it-not? vegetable. To a Silician or someone from the south of Portugal or Spain, however, rapini wouldn’t be odd at all. In fact, it’d be considered darned tasty thrown into a quick sautée or braised with some fragrant garlic, much as we would use curly spinach or any other type of hearty green.
For me, the twofer concept of rapini comes into play when I compare the flavor of the stems to the flavor of the flowered heads — while the stems can get woody and bitter if the rapini is past its prime, after only a few moments of sautéeing, they’re usually tender, a bit sweet, and reminiscent of asparagus. The flowered heads, on the other hand, taste like toned-down broccoli. The leaves are a nice greeny backdrop to both. Very young rapini is also sometimes eaten raw in salads. With so much inherent versatility, it’s time to give this oddball green a try! (Note that stores usually keep rapini tucked in with the greens and/or root vegetables.)
Rapini Stir-Fry with Pasta (note that these are general ingredient ideas — double or triple the quantity as needed)
Whole-grain pasta of your choice, gluten-free or with gluten
Red bell pepper, chopped
Onion, chopped
Chopped tomatoes
Black-eyed peas, drained
Garlic, cut into slivers or thin rounds
Fresh or dried thyme, rosemary, basil, and/or oregano
Rapini, rinsed, bottom third of the stem removed, the rest coarsely chopped
(Other tasty veggies to include would be mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, sweet onions, leeks…you name it!)
Extra-virgin olive oil
Prepare noodles according to package directions. While the noodles are cooking, in a large pan, sautée red pepper and onion with a pat of ghee or butter over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes or until onions are translucent and beginning to turn golden. Reduce heat to medium-low and add tomatoes, peas, and garlic. Sprinkle in some herbs, stir, and let simmer for about 5 minutes or until garlic has begun to cook through and become fragrant.
Add rapini, stir well, and cover pan. Increase heat to medium and let rapini steam for about 3 minutes. If you’d like your rapini super-crunchy, only cook for 2 minutes; if you’d like it to be softer and more wilted, cook for 4-5 minutes.
Immediately remove from heat and place in a large mixing/serving bowl. Toss in pasta and a drizzle or two of olive oil. Season with sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper. If you’d like, you can accent your stir-fry toss with a grated hard cheese like Parmesan or Dutch Parrano. A few sprigs of extra fresh herbs would be a nice garnish.
Enjoy!
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Tags: black-eyed peas, gluten-free, italian, pasta, rapini, stir-fry
