Broccoli Rabe Bruschetta | Bitter to Sweet

My kitchen has turned out more bread on a regular basis than any other food items. How many times can you make avocado toasts? Way too many. A broccoli rabe bruschetta from Ruth Reichl’s My Kitchen Year is a welcome addition. It widens my repertoire of serving something green, healthy and delicious on a slice of bread.

The recipe may require more time than cutting open an avocado. But lately, I’m been drawn to the slow-cook approach that transforms the vegetable into something remarkably different. Try this spinach stew, you’ll get the point. Ruth captures the essence of a similar transformation. This is what she says in the book.

“Once I had drained the vegetable (broccoli rabe) and started sautéing it with oil and garlic, the aroma morphed into something entirely different. The fragrance turned pleasant, inviting, and by the time I was piling it onto grilled bread and topping it with softly melting cheese, the broccoli rabe had become an extremely amiable mouthful. How quickly things can go from bitter to sweet. How reassuring.”

This bread tray is a constant in my kitchen.

Now I am on a mission to find more comfort food that can go from bitter to sweet — almost in an instant. Slow-cooked spinach, grilled radicchio and brussels sprouts come to mind. My mouth is watering!

Print Recipe

Broccoli Rabe Bruschetta

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 bunch broccoli rabe
• bread
• olive oil
• garlic
• salt
• pepper
• Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1

Throw the broccoli rabe into a pot of salted boiling water and cook it until all the rough edges have disappeared and the color has deepened. It takes about 10 minutes. Don't worry about overcooking it; this is not an al dente moment. Drain well and cut up the vegetable in a casual fashion.

2

Heat a generous amount of olive oil into, add in 3 or 4 cloves of chopped garlic. Wait for the scent to perfume the air. Add the broccoli rabe, salt and pepper, and stir until it glistens.

3

Serve on slices of country bread that has been brushed with olive oil and crispy grilled. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Notes

Adapted from Ruth Reichl's My Kitchen Year