I never tried Broccoli Rabe until a few years ago. For some reason, my family doesn’t like it. My grandmother thinks it’s horribly bitter so she never made it, and then my mom never made it, so I never had it. The first time I tried it, I had bought some frozen broccoli rabe from the supermarket, and I cooked it like I would any other greens. It tasted good to me. It didn’t taste bitter. In fact, I thought it was more mild then either mustard greens or collard greens. A week or so ago, they had beautiful fresh broccoli rabe in the local produce store, and it was on sale. I couldn’t pass it up. I wasn’t sure how to cook fresh broccoli rabe, so I looked it up online. There are so many varying opinions as to how it should be done. Some people say to discard the leaves because they are too bitter, other people say to only cook the leaves, some say to just chop everything up and cook it all together.
I decided to have a little test. I separated the leaves from the broccoli-type stalks. I cut the ends off the stalks. rinsed both several times, and then blanched each for a minute or two and then sauteed in some olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. I ate the stalky parts first. To me, they tasted like a cross between asparagus and broccoli, and I could understand how some people might think they tasted a little bitter, but I think it really depends on your palate. I definitely have a vegetable lovers palate and don’t enjoy foods that are overly sweet. Then I tried the sauteed leaves which were good, I don’t really know how to describe their flavor as they were kind of non-descript to me, not pungent or bitter, yet also not sweet or mild. I definitely enjoyed both parts of the vegetable and would buy it again.
I never tried Broccoli Rabe until a few years ago. For some reason, my family doesn’t like it. My grandmother thinks it’s horribly bitter so she never made it, and then my mom never made it, so I never had it. The first time I tried it, I had bought some frozen broccoli rabe from the supermarket, and I cooked it like I would any other greens. It tasted good to me. It didn’t taste bitter. In fact, I thought it was more mild then either mustard greens or collard greens. A week or so ago, they had beautiful fresh broccoli rabe in the local produce store, and it was on sale. I couldn’t pass it up. I wasn’t sure how to cook fresh broccoli rabe, so I looked it up online. There are so many varying opinions as to how it should be done. Some people say to discard the leaves because they are too bitter, other people say to only cook the leaves, some say to just chop everything up and cook it all together.
I decided to have a little test. I separated the leaves from the broccoli-type stalks. I cut the ends off the stalks. rinsed both several times, and then blanched each for a minute or two and then sauteed in some olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. I ate the stalky parts first. To me, they tasted like a cross between asparagus and broccoli, and I could understand how some people might think they tasted a little bitter, but I think it really depends on your palate. I definitely have a vegetable lovers palate and don’t enjoy foods that are overly sweet. Then I tried the sauteed leaves which were good, I don’t really know how to describe their flavor as they were kind of non-descript to me, not pungent or bitter, yet also not sweet or mild. I definitely enjoyed both parts of the vegetable and would buy it again.