Sauteed rapini

Rapini has not always been my friend. In fact, the first few times I had rapini I did NOT like it at all. It was bitter, too much fiber to the point it's chewy, and just.. blergh! I stayed away from rapini for a number of years because of the terrible first impression. I would see it in the grocery stores but pretty much just disregarded it - well it's just another vegetable. I never thought too much about it until a few months ago when an Italian co-worker shared a fantastic way to make rapini - her rapini dish was infact, delicious. Thanks for the awesome inspiration! Let me share with you: the secret of awesome, delicious sauteed rapini.

Rapini is nutritious. Even so it wasn't enough to convince me because the taste was not great. It's packed with vitamin A, C, E, K, B6, folate, calcium, manganese - just to name a few. That's like, a one-a-day multi-vitamin pill in its original form! I'm pretty impressed. I am serving it with baked sweet potatoes tonight, but it pairs well with many others as a side dish. If you have a chicken, beef, fish, or pasta main, sauteed rapini is perfect to go with it.

What you need:

- 1 pack/bunch (about a lb) of rapini

- 3-5 cloves of garlic

Prep: 

- wash the rapini stems and leaves, separate leaves from stems. keep leaves aside.

- key secret #1: peel the stems. Yes you heard me right. Take a pairing knife and take 10-15 min and actually peel the each individual stems. This is a crucial step to remove some of the hard fibers that makes the dish hard to chew, so it's more palatable. The first few times it's really time consuming and you might start to question if this is all worth it - as did I. but you get faster doing it if you do this a few times and the results - totally worth it.

- key secret #2: blanch. boil a pot of water and blanch the stems and leaves in hot water and drain to keep side. Is this necessary? and yes it is. This step takes away the bitterness that comes with the vegetable and when you stir fry it won't take as long to cook also. Very necessary. 

Recipe:

- slide garlic cloves and stirfly over oiled pan.

- throw in blanched rapini and keep sauteeing until cooked and a bit wilted - 3 min or so. keep stiring.

- plate and serve!

There you have it - the key secrets are out! peeling and blanching steps may seem extra however they are complete necessary steps to make or break this dish. I tried to skip both steps, or either one step and it's just not the same. Don't believe me? try it yourself. Now rapini (cooked the right way) is infact one of my favorite dinner items to have - and not just for the health benefits.