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• Yield: serves 6 as a main course
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If you’ve never tried this intensely flavored vegetable, sometimes labeled “bitter broccoli,” you’re in for a treat! Broccoli rabe (or brocoletti di rape, as it’s called in Italy) was once scarce in the United States. But it’s now available year-round in most well-stocked supermarkets.

In addition to being more flavorful than regular broccoli, Italian broccoli needs little trimming before being cooked. When seared in hot olive oil, laced with lots of garlic and some crushed red pepper flakes, and then simmered in a rich chicken (or vegetable) broth, there’s hardly a more flavorful vegetable around. Whether served alone as a side dish, or over piping-hot rigatoni noodles as a main dish, broccoli rabe provides a nutritious, fiber-filled addition to your menu (that’s also quick and easy to prepare)!

Any time I’ve suggested a tool, a piece of equipment, or a culinary term that’s unfamiliar to you, you can go to Kitchen Management for more information.

Special Equipment

• 8-quart blanching pot with built-in strainer, optional and only if including pasta

Ingredients:

• 2 large bunches broccoli rabe (about 2 1/2 pounds before trimming)
• 2 cups chicken stock or vegetable broth (3 cups if using pasta)
• 1/2 cup best-quality, extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic kept whole, plus 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon salt, for pasta water, if using
• 1 pound dried rigatoni pasta, optional
• Kosher salt or sea salt to taste
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Melted butter and additional stock, if using pasta

1) To set up: If including pasta, bring an 8-quart pot of water to a boil. If not using pasta, bring a small saucepan of water to a rolling boil and drop the whole cloves of garlic into the pot. Boil the garlic, uncovered, for 2 full minutes. Remove the garlic, using a slotted utensil, and cut each parboiled clove in half, lengthwise. Set the garlic aside and, if making pasta, reduce the heat under the pot of water so it simmers until you’re ready to cook the rigatoni. Thoroughly rinse the broccoli and pat dry. Do not remove the leaves and only trim off the very bottom of the stalks; everything else is to be cooked and eaten. Cut the stalks and leaves into 2 to 3-inch lengths.

2) To cook the broccoli: Heat a 12-inch, deep-sided skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and, when hot, add the parboiled garlic. Stir the garlic frequently, in the hot oil, until it turns golden brown, being careful not to let it burn. Use a slotted utensil to remove the garlic to a bowl. Increase the heat to high and, all at once, add the broccoli rabe and crushed red pepper flakes to the pan. Use tongs to turn the vegetable, helping it to wilt in the hot oil, then scatter on the browned garlic, the raw garlic, 2 cups of stock and some salt. Cover the pan and bring the stock to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the broccoli until tender but still textural, about 8 to 10 minutes (the leaves will be nice and wilted, the stalks will be tender, but will retain a texture that’s slightly “al dente”). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3) If using pasta: Return pot of water back to a rapid boil, over high heat. Just after searing the broccoli rabe in hot oil, add salt to the pot of water and then add the rigatoni. (This is when you’d add the garlic, stock, etc., to the broccoli.) Cook the pasta until “al dente,” according to the package directions, checking pasta frequently to avoid overcooking. Drain the pasta, allowing some of the cooking water to adhere to the tubes. The pasta and broccoli should be done at about the same time, if not, let the broccoli sit, covered, on the hot, turned off burner.

4) To serve: Put individual portions of the broccoli and broth into warmed bowls (either alone) or ladle it over hot cooked pasta. (If using pasta, I like to coat the cooked tubes in a combination of melted butter and some additional hot stock.) Lightly sprinkle with salt and serve immediately, passing grated or shaved Pecorino Romano or Parmesan at the table, along with a peppermill.

SHOPPING LIST

At-a-glance reminder of ingredients list

• 2 large bunches broccoli rabe (about 2 1/2 pounds before trimming)
• 2 cups chicken stock or vegetable broth (3 cups if using pasta)
• 1/2 cup best-quality, extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic kept whole, plus 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon salt, for pasta water, if using
• 1 pound dried rigatoni pasta, optional
• Kosher salt or sea salt to taste
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Melted butter and additional stock, if using pasta

From the supermarket shelf:

• 1 pound dried rigatoni pasta (only if serving the broccoli over pasta)
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Chicken or vegetable broth (only if not using homemade Chicken Stock)

From the spice section:

• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper

From the produce section:

• 2 large bunches broccoli rabe (about 2 ½ pounds)
• Garlic (1 head)

From the dairy case:

• Wedge of Pecorino Romano of Reggiano-Parmigiano cheese
• Butter (if using pasta)

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• Scale of Muscle:
• Yield: about 6 cups
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Although this dough is very quick to put together, I’ve attached 2 ½ muscles for this recipe is because I want to stress to you that each quarter of dough needs to be rolled very thin before being cut and then fried. Don’t worry, though, since the added flavoring ingredients (the seeds, ground minced dehydrated onions, etc.) all help to sever the tough strands of gluten developed while kneading. If new to making and rolling dough, I suggest you watch the Video of me making these fried noodles which are, by far, the best I, or anyone who’s had them, have ever eaten

Any time I’ve suggested a tool, a piece of equipment, or a culinary term that’s unfamiliar to you, you can go to Kitchen Management for more information.

Special Equipment

• Spice grinder
• Wooden surface, for kneading
• Pastry scraper
• Large pot or electric deep-fat fryer
• Deep-fry thermometer
• Large perforated utensil (called a “spider”)

Ingredients For the Chinese noodles:

• 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 rounded teaspoon salt
• 2 rounded tablespoons each: beige and black sesame seeds
• 1 rounded tablespoon pan-toasted dehydrated minced onions, cooled and finely ground (toss in a hot, dry skillet, over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until golden but not burnt)
• 1 tablespoon dehydrated minced garlic, finely ground
• A few grinds of black pepper
• 2/3 to 3/4 cup cool tap water
• 3 to 4 quarts flavorless vegetable oil or a highly refined peanut oil, for frying

1) To make the Chinese noodles: Whisk together the flour, salt, sesame seeds, ground dried onions, garlic, and pepper in a medium-sized mixing bowl. While combining the ingredients, with your working hand, add only enough water to create a moist (not wet) shaggy mass of dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured wooden board and knead it, using a firm, brisk and deliberate push-fold-and-turn motion, until the dough is firm, smooth and elastic. If the dough ever feels sticky, add a little additional flour. Cover the dough with a clean, dry kitchen towel and let it relax for 30 minutes, for easier rolling.

2) To set up to fry, if using a saucepan: Pour in enough oil to half fill a wide, heavy-bottomed 8-quart saucepan and attach a deep-frying thermometer securely to the side of the pan. Don’t allow the mercury tip to touch the bottom. Heat the oil over medium-high heat, to 375oF. If using a frying basket, let it heat in the oil.

3) If using an electric deep-fryer: Pour oil to the designated line and heat according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Line a large wire-mesh rack and a deep roasting pan with paper towels and place them near the stove, but at a safe distance.

4) To roll, cut and fry the noodles: Uncover the dough and, using the blade of a pastry scraper, cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Keep the rest of the pieces covered, as you work with one piece at a time. On a lightly floured board, roll out one piece of the dough into a very thin (not more than 1/16-inch thick) rectangle. As you roll, occasionally turn the dough over and dust both the board and the dough with flour. When very thin, lay dough in front of you with one of the short ends closest to you.
Dust the top lightly with flour, spreading it out evenly with your hand and roll up the dough (going away from you) into a loose jelly-roll. Using a sharp serrated knife, slice the roll into 1/4-inch slices. Lift each slice and let it unravel, draping it over the inside of your nonworking hand. When finished, if the oil is not hot enough, lay those noodles to the side, in a loose pile, covered with a clean kitchen towel. Roll and cut the remaining dough this way.
When the oil reaches the desired temperature, carefully ease a single pile of raw noodles into the hot oil and immediately (and gently) stir and separate them, using a long two-pronged fork. The noodles will quickly “balloon up,” and little blisters will appear on their surfaces. Fry the noodles until they’re golden on the bottom, about 2 minutes (a little longer in an electric fryer), and then carefully turn them over with the long fork to fry on the other side, about 2 minutes more. When done, the noodles should be golden, light textured and perfectly crisp. Don’t let them get overly dark, or they can taste burnt. Using either the fry basket or a long-handled wire-mesh tool, such as a spider, transfer each batch of cooked noodles from the oil to the paper-lined rack. Shake to remove excess oil, and then pile them in the prepared roasting pan.

SHOPPING LIST

At-a-Glance Reminder of Ingredients

For the Chinese noodles:

• 2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 rounded teaspoon salt
• 2 rounded tablespoons each: beige and black sesame seeds
• 1 rounded tablespoon pan-toasted dehydrated minced onions, cooled and finely ground (toss in a hot, dry skillet, over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until golden but not burnt)
• 1 tablespoon dehydrated minced garlic, finely ground
• A few grinds of black pepper
• 2/3 to 3/4 cup cool tap water
• 3 to 4 quarts flavorless vegetable oil or a highly refined peanut oil, for frying

From the supermarket shelf:

• Unbleached, all-purpose flour
• Fine table salt
• Beige and black sesame seeds (look in the Asian section for the black ones)
• Dehydrated minced onions (preferably toasted)
• Dehydrated minced garlic
• Black pepper
• Flavorless vegetable oil or a highly refined peanut oil (like “Planters”)

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