Day 324: Steamed Broccoli Rabe ♥

How to Steam Broccoli Raab Right in a Skillet

That's right, no special steaming basket required! Instead, steaming happens right in a covered skillet, then after the skillet is removed, the greens braise in an Asian-style liquid flavored with soy sauce and fresh garlic. It's kinda magic, people, and steaming works so well for these particular greens.

Fresh Leafy Greens, Fast & Healthy. Whole Food, Quick & Casual. Year-Round Kitchen Staple. Little Effort, Big Taste. Low Carb. Low Fat. Weight Watchers Friendly. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real. Naturally Gluten Free.

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First Off, What Is Broccoli Rabe, Again?

Or wait, is it actually spelled Broccoli Raab? Yes! Both are accepted spellings. (And both words are pronounced "rob" as in robbing a bank.) And are these tender greens also called Rapini? Yes again!

Broccoli raab (this is the more common spelling) is a cruciferous vegetable, just like cauliflower and cabbage. But like another cruciferous vegetable, kale, in culinary terms, broccoli raab is treated like a leafy green. That's because the plant's greens dominate, both visually and taste-wise.

The leaves have a distinctive peppery taste, a bit like arugula. Broccoli raab is quite pretty: the leaves are bright green, the stems slender, and there are tiny buds that look a bit like a tiny head of broccoli. And some bundles include a few tiny yellow flowers!

My Favorite New Leafy Green?

Way back in 2006, during the first year of A Veggie Venture when I cooked a new vegetable every day for an entire year, I introduced broccoli raab by writing, "Meet my new favorite vegetable, broccoli rabe! Not only that, meet my favorite new leafy green!"

For a few months, I'd spied broccoli raab everywhere but in the supermarkets I frequented. A food blogger friend who knew about my search even asked if I lived in the sticks when I inquired what broccoli raab looked like, fearing I was just missing it. He was nice about it though and even wrote a great primer.

Then suddenly, beautiful bunches appeared! And not only at Whole Foods but also at my local grocery here in St. Louis! (It pays to ask: Thank you, Schnucks!)

I cooked up a batch for lunch in just 10 minutes – nothing more than water and soy sauce and garlic and salt and pepper. It was delicious! The greens themselves are quite tender and have a delicate essence of, ummm, mustard maybe? The little broccoli heads are sweet and buttery, just delicious. And I venture that even those who find greens too gritty and well, too green, just might like broccoli rabe.

Experimenting with Broccoli Raab

So I decided to cook up some broccoli rabe greens all that month! And, in typical blogging fashion circa 2006, I invited other bloggers to join me, just like we'd done the month before for fennel. The results are organized here in this collection of broccoli raab recipes.

Good Reasons to Choose Broccoli Raab

Want some reasons why, other than delicious?

A whole serving (from about a quarter pound) has only 40 calories, no fat, just 2 grams of net carbs, 50% of a day's Vitamin C requirement, 20% of Vitamin A and 15% of calcium.
And it's easy to clean, a function of how it's grown.
And did I mention already how good it tastes???

About This Recipe

Steamed Broccoli Raab is cooked in an unusual fashion, right in a skillet, no need for a steaming basket. The steaming liquid is just water and soy sauce that's studded with garlic. The structure of broccoli raab means the stems rest on the skillet itself, the greens themselves remain elevated above the shallow liquid. The steaming process takes just two minutes, lid on, capturing the heat inside the skillet. Then the lid is removed and the liquid is cooked off for another minute or two, further flavoring the greens and stems. It's so simple and kinda magic!

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STEAMED BROCCOLI RABE

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Time to table: 10 minutes
Serves 4

1 bunch broccoli rabe (about 8oz/225g), rinsed well, thickest stems removed

1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin

Salt and pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste

PREP Rinse the greens under running water. One by one, cut off the thickest stems and discard.

STEAM In a large skillet, bring the water, soy sauce and garlic to a boil. Add the greens, just resting them evenly across the skillet, the stems will lift the leaves off the liquid, allowing both to steam.

Cover the skillet and let cook for about 2 minutes.

Remove the cover and continue to cook until the liquid's gone, then stems are cooked but still firm and the greens are as tender as desired.

Season with salt, pepper and a few flakes of red pepper.

Dig in! Best hot!

ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
If you work quickly, it's possible to prep the greens while the water, soy sauce and garlic come to a boil. But with a skillet's large surface area, it comes to a boil quickly enough there is barely time to wash and trim the greens. Plan accordingly!

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Serving: 45 Calories; 0g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 288mg Sodium; 5g Carb; 3g Fiber; 0g Sugar; 4g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 0 & PointsPlus 0 & SmartPoints 0 & Freestyle 0 & myWW green 0 & blue 0 & purple 0 & future WW points CALORIE COUNTERS 100-calorie serving = generous 2 servings (9g protein).

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION Adapted from Gourmet, January 2005.

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More Favorite Broccoli Raab Recipes

~ Potato, Cabbage & Rapini Colcannon ~
~ Broccoli Rabe with Peppers ~
~ Pasta with Sausage & Broccoli Rabe ~
~ more broccoli raab recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Meatball Soup with Broccoli Rabe ~
~ Turkey Orzo Soup with Lemon & Spinach ~
~ more broccoli raab recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

Seasonal Cooking: Late Winter Across the Years

Steamed Broccoli Rabe Bean & Lacinato Kale Soup Carrot Pudding Potato, Cabbage & Rapini Colcannon Slow Cooker Onion Soup Cabbage Roses Quick Corn Soup with Coconut Milk Carrot Dip Scalloped Swedes & Finns Weight Watchers Mexican "Zero Points" Soup Homemade Black Bean Burgers Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi with Creamy Tomato Sauce Chickpea Cakes with Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce Slow Cooker Vegetarian Lentil Sloppy Joes Cajun Dirty Rice with Eggplant Kalamata Tuna Salad Bok Choy Wraps Seasonal Soup & Salad Recipes for March

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Looking for healthy new ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of super-organized quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Asparagus-to-Zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables. Join "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg to explore the exciting world of common and not-so-common vegetables where recipes range from seasonal to staples, savory to sweet, salads to sides, soups to supper, simple to special.

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