Broccoli Rabe - Right In Your Front Yard

An Italian tradition in my family is picking wild broccoli rabe in the spring time. In addition to spring, is a late summer/early fall crop, however not as plentiful. Broccoli rabe are common in the  Northeast in the spring. They grow plentiful in yards and farms when the grass first turns green. Essentially, they look like a weed with a small broccoli head. However, they are absolutely delicious. The heads will turn yellow, and are not good for picking. You have to pick them early as seen in the picture to the right.

I use to go with my dad when I was a child to pick broccoli rabe. My children and I continued the tradition. Picking broccoli rabe in the spring gets them fresh air and teaches them about tradition. I started picking them again over 10 years ago. Part of the tradition is a proper cleaning. Being that it is found in fields and lawns, cleaning is a long process. On my first trip out since I was a kid, I found a wonderful crop on a river bed. Unfortunately, I did not clean the first batch very well, and some small river rocks were a part of my first attempt to clean them. Needless to say, I spend much more time since then cleaning them, and am happy to say they have been cleaned and screened much better! (They are easy to clean using a colander - I just forgot how to clean them properly my first attempt. I forgot to re-rinse after boiling which is very important.)

Broccoli rabe is the original broccoli that comes from the cabbage family. The leaves can look similar to cabbage. Rich in iron, you have to boil them for about 10 mins. Your boiling water will look dark green from the iron. This takes the bitterness out of the greens. Essentially, you prepare broccoli rabe like greens once cleaned and rinsed. (Collard, Utica Greens....etc)
 Due to the water retention of the green, you can freeze them after boiling and have broccoli rabe throughout the year. It is a tough green, and it takes a lot to have them freezer burn.


Here is a simple recipe for wild broccoli rabe.

1-2 quarts boiled and cleaned broccoli rabe
3-5tablespoons of Olive Olive
2-3 cloves of minced fresh garlic
Cracked Pepper
Cracked Sea Salt

You can also add a diced Prosciutto, Salami and finely diced tomatoes.

Warm your stove top to a med heat. In a skillet, add the broccoli rabe with the oil and garlic on top to slowly drip into the mixture. As the rabes heat up turn and saute until tender. Season with cracked pepper and salt to you liking. Towards the end, add the garnishments to add flavor to the mixture. Set aside, let cool and serve as a tasty addition to a main entrée.