Easy Sautéed Broccoli Rabe with Garlic and Pine Nuts

This easy sauté is a perfect example of how to cook broccoli rabe to bring out its best quality. Embellished with plenty of garlic and toasted pine nuts or almonds, this simple broccoli rabe recipe is a quick year-round side dish.

This easy sauté is a perfect example of how to cook broccoli rabe to bring out its best quality. It’s traditionally served as a side dish with pastas and other Mediterranean preparations.

What is broccoli rabe? In brief, broccoli rabe is a Mediterranean vegetable with a pleasantly bitter flavor that’s best showcased in simple preparations.

Popular in Mediterranean cuisine, broccoli rabe, a leafy vegetable, is known by many names including rapini and Italian broccoli, and is alternatively spelled raab. 

Is broccoli rabe related to broccoli? Despite having “broccoli” in its name, it isn’t a cruciferous cousin of regular broccoli, but rather, a relative of turnips and mustard greens. Broccoli rabe isn’t generally eaten raw and is best showcased in simple sautés like this one.

Swap-in: If broccoli rabe turns out not to be your favorite vegetable, try making this dish with broccolini. Or, if you want to stick with the bitter greens, you can make this with one head of mustard greens or escarole.

Explore more …

• Skillet White Beans with Broccoli Rabe & Mushrooms
• Penne with Broccoli Rabe and Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas)

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Yield: 4

Easy Garlicky Sautéed Broccoli Rabe

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Embellished with plenty of garlic and toasted pine nuts or almonds, this sautéed broccoli rabe is a quick year-round side dish.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound broccoli rabe
• 1/4 cup pine nuts or 1/3 cup slivered almonds
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 to 5 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt and freshly ground pepper (or red pepper flakes) to taste
• Lemon wedges for serving, optional

Instructions

1. Trim any woody ends from the broccoli rabe and cut into large bite-sized pieces. Cut any thicker stalks in half lengthwise to ensure even cooking. Place in a colander and rinse well.
2. Heat a large skillet or stir-fry pan (the same one you’ll be using to sauté the broccoli rabe). Add the nuts and toast over medium-low heat until lightly browned and fragrant, stirring very frequently (keep an eye out, you don’t want to burn those expensive pine nuts!) Remove to a bowl and set aside.
3. Heat the oil in the same skillet or stir-fry pan. Add the garlic and sauté over medium-low heat for a minute or two, or until golden. 
4. Stir the broccoli rabe. Sauté over medium heat until bright green and tender but still firm, 5 to 8 minutes, adding small amounts of water as needed, just to keep the skillet moist (if you have a bottle of white wine open, that works, too!)
5. Season with salt and pepper, then transfer to a serving dish or platter or serve straight from the pan. Scatter the toasted nuts over the top and serve at once. Pass around lemon wedges for individual servings, if you'd like.

Notes

Variation: Add 1/4 to 1/3 cup dark or golden raisins for a traditional Mediterranean touch.

See more plant-forward salads & sides.