Roasted Broccoli Rabe (aka Rapini)
April 26, 2016 
ceramic plate from Fifty One and Half
This green leafy vegetable is a staple in the Italian kitchen. It is called Rapini but it is better known in the U.S. as Broccoli Rabe. Italians love their bitter greens and this vegetable fits right in. It's in the mustard family and is like a turnip green with little broccoli florets. It's absolutely delicious. It goes well with a nice grilled steak. There are a number of ways to cook it, but I'm going to show you how to roast it til it's crispy.
When you buy broccoli rabe, it will be in a nice sized bunch and it will look like a lot, but it does cook down. I like to roast it on sheet pans but you can't crowd it - one large bunch should be divided up between two sheet pans so it crisps up well and doesn't just steam.
I like to infuse some oil first with some garlic and spices. Then I pour this flavorful oil over the broccoli rabe and toss it till all the leaves are coated. Roasting it for about 15 - 20 minutes or so crisps it up very nicely.
Roasted Broccoli Rabe
for a printable recipe click here
You need two sheet pans for this recipe to work - you don't want to crowd the broccoli rabe or it will steam instead of crisping.
1 bunch fresh rapini (broccoli rabe)
¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 whole garlic cloves
⅛ teaspoon red hot chili pepper
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Preheat the oven to 400° F. (If you have a convection oven, use the convection setting - it will crisp the greens up even better). Prepare two rimmed baking sheets by lining them with aluminum foil. Divide the broccoli rabe bunch up between the two pans.
In a small saucepan, heat the rest of the ingredients up over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not let the garlic burn. Remove the garlic.
Pour the infused oil over the greens and toss well until they are lightly coated. Place in the oven and roast for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss well again. Return to the oven and roast for about 5 - 10 minutes more, until the leaves are really crisping up. Keep checking until it's done to your liking. I like a lot of the leaves to be super crisp - almost burnt a little. It's delicious.
Reader Comments (8)
That fresh broccoli raab looks so inviting. It is one of my favorite vegetables, although I never tried it roasted in the oven. I love the idea of the infused oil to pour over it.
I remember my mamma and papà loved bitter greens. It took me a while to acquire the taste and now I love the taste. In America most of the greens we found in the Midwest was the typical lettuce or spinach. Your couldn't find rapini or arugula. Thank goodness that's changed. I've never roasted rapini but I'm looking forward to using our convection oven to get a crispy bitter delight. Thank you for the idea!
We planted a patch in our garden. Hoping it will do well. Will save this recipe to try
I so love your recipes.
Love this idea! So simple and I'm sure it tastes great. Bought some broccoli rabe yesterday and am going to try this!
I've never seen that thing. Where can I buy it? Or possibly someone can cook it for me?
I hope I can find this vegetable around this powdunk area! I was reading a mystery novel and they mentioned Rabe and didn't go into detail. I went through every cook book I own and couldn't find any reverence to it. Our internet was down so I couldn't google it. Now I know what it is and how to use it, very excited about exploring this whole thing. New things are very interesting. Tx for having this info. Janet
This is so funny - I thought I was the only one who roasted rabe - and I thought I was such a genius to come up with it LOL (we usually saute). I love it, but the purists in the family (my father for one) would turn over in their graves if they saw me roasting the precious rabe! Anyway, it really is excellent, very happy to see there are others out there like me :)