One of my all time favorite greens is broccoli rabe. It has a bright but slightly bitter flavor and is found predominantly in Southern Italian, Portuguese and even Spanish cuisine. It’s part of the mustard family and is in the same subspecies as the turnip. (Wikipedia.org)

When I was growing up, my family prepared the broccoli rabe with olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes and a touch of salt. Still to this day, it’s my favorite way to prepare it.

While out to eat one evening at an Italian restaurant I was excited by what I read on the menu. Many dishes were highlighted from different regions of Italy. One side dish that caught my eye was broccoli rabe. This particular dish was inspired by Sicilian ingredients or at least those used in Sicilian cooking and included pine nuts or pignoli nuts and raisins.

Serves 5 people

1 Bunch Broccoli Rabe cleaned (see below)

3-4 Tbl Olive Oil

6 Garlic Cloves thinly sliced

1/8 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes or to taste

1/4 Cup Pine Nuts

1/2 Cup Raisins or Sultans

Salt to taste

To clean the broccoli rabe: Fill a stock pot (6 quart) about half way with water and bring to a boil. In the mean time cut off the dried ends of the rabe at about 1/2″ and discard. Chop the remainder in approximately 1″ increments. You will have some stalks that are thick, cut the long way to ensure the greens will cook evenly. Rinse the rabe under cold water. Once the water comes to a boil, add a tablespoon of salt to the water. Add the rabe and cook for 3 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water for about 2 minutes. At this point it would be fine to refrigerate until you’re ready to complete your dish later on that day or the next.

In a 12″ saute’ pan, add the olive oil and heat, add the garlic and red pepper flakes, this will infuse the olive oil with these flavors. Once the garlic starts to brown at the edges add the pine nuts (walnut pieces can be substituted if desired) and raisins. Once the raisins start to plump up add the rabe and the salt. Stir together until just heated through, about 2 minutes. Serve!