At the moment, our backyard broccoli raab (also known as broccoli rabé, rapini or cime de rapa) is growing in abundance.
Luckily we absolutely adore it. Twice a week, we’ll harvest an entire sinkful of leaves for dinner, which barely makes a dent on the plants. Raab is an incredibly healthy leafy green, but it’s taken a bit of trial and error to figure out how to prepare it.
The leaves are too bitter and spiky for salads, and we think they’re at their best when twice cooked – we boil them first, then refry them. The bitterness is mellowed in the process, leaving delicious and interesting green leaves which absorb and complement other salty flavours.
Once a week, we make cime de rapa pasta, and last night we discovered that the dark green flavours also work brilliantly with chorizo…
Inspired by an episode of Rick Stein’s Spain, I fried sliced chorizos and used the residual paprika-flavoured oil to brown spatchcocks prior to roasting. I then created a version of Tanya’s tapas dish, adding onions, broccoli raab and Fino sherry, popping the roasted birds on top for the final presentation.
Pete said I was just looking for an excuse to use my fabulous 12″ (30cm) cazuela dish, and he’s probably right…
Here’s our recipe in a bit more detail, but like all dishes of this ilk, the quantities are loose and can easily be adjusted to suit…
- 3 spatchcocks, washed (if you wish) and paper towel dried
- 4 Spanish chorizos (see note)
- 1 large or 2 small onion(s), finely chopped
- one sinkful of broccoli raab leaves (freshly picked if possible)
- good splash of Spanish Fino (dry) sherry
Note: we buy our chorizos from Black Forest Smokehouse. They release a lot of oil and paprika when fried – if the ones you have don’t, you might want to add a little olive oil and/or paprika to the dish.
1. Preheat the oven to 200C with fan. Rub a little oil onto a baking tray (to roast the spatchcocks in). Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Prepare the raab by stripping the leaves off the stems if necessary (if the stems are very tender, they can be left in). Roll all the leaves together and chop them coarsely.
2. Rinse the cazuela in hot water to moisten it. Slice the chorizos into thick chunks, then add them to the cazuela and heat the pan up slowly over a gas burner. This would, of course, work perfectly well in a more robust form of cookware – the terracotta cazuela needs a gentle touch and seems better suited to a gas flame than an electric hotplate.
3. Cook slowly, gradually increasing the heat as required and fry the chorizos until most of the oil has been released. This takes a bit of time. Remove the chorizos with a slotted spoon and set aside.
4. Add the spatchcocks to the hot oil, cooking for a few minutes and turning them over to brown them on all sides. Move them to the prepared baking tray, breast side down, and pop them into the oven for about half an hour.
5. Add the broccoli raab to the boiling water and simmer for a few minutes until softened. To the hot oil remaining in the cazuela, add the onions and fry until soft. Drain the raab and add the leaves to the onions. Stir well, breaking up any clumps. Add a good splash or two of the sherry (or substitute a decent white wine) and allow the vegetables to cook down. Finally, return the chorizos to the pan, and cook for a few minutes more to allow all the flavours to mingle.
6. When the spatchcocks are done, remove them from the oven, and sit them on top of the chorizos and vegetables.
My sons ate a bird each (!) and Pete and I shared the other one. They were tender and delicious, despite being seasoned only with the oil from the chorizos. The star of the night though was the broccoli raab – the leaves took on the spiced oil and sherry flavours, and I found myself scooping out the leftover greens to eat on sourdough.
PS. I bought my Spanish cazuela at (of course) Chefs’ Warehouse. They have an assortment of sizes available at very reasonable prices.
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Always interested in a new way to make ‘greens’, and had been wondering how to prepare Broccoli Raab, in case I ever find any!! I did smile, though, I’ve never before read a recipe that called for a ‘sinkful’ of anything!! :)
Ardys, it was hard to quantify otherwise! :) And I thought it was a better measure than a “bunch”, which seems to vary from shop to shop. :)
I love cima di rabe and the Italians treat it much the same way as you do Celia. Firstly they cook it in boiling water for some time, then drain it, then refry it in garlic and oil. Cima di rapa is often known as turnip tops too and goes well with orecchiette pasta( as a substitute for brocolli). I like its bitterness. It also goes crazy in the garden and can be a bit of an invader.
Good to see that you are back on deck- hope you had a ball with the rellies!
Francesca, Pete and I had this very conversation yesterday! Even though it’s called broccoli raab, it’s actually more closely related to turnips than broccoli. We make a cime di rapa pasta which we love..
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2012/10/14/six-week-ten-minute-pasta/
Does your orecchiette version use anchovies?
And yes, it goes bananas in our garden, but we’re quite happy to eat it instead of other greens (just as well). :)
I love anchovies and as the classic version of Orecchiette calls for anchovies, I throw plenty in. I will blog my good old stand by, Orecchiette and brocolli soon, given the brocolli glut and also because its a little different in method. In an old blog I had years ago,after I posted it, my neice’s boyfriend made it every week. It became his special dish. Now that they are married and have a new baby, its tome to remind him about ‘the recipe’.
Another way with this dish is to use cavolo nero, or black kale. I once had it this way in Grossi Florentino in Melbourne and it was to die for. I think it was the only dish I could afford.
When this bad weather finally moves on, I’ll throw in the Rapa seed as it is a wonderful green. F xx
Sinkful of greens = that is too good!
I had broccoli raab maybe three times in my life, I like it, but doubt I could find it here.
Hope you had a wonderful time with your family!
Sally, apparently it’s very popular with the Italian community over there – I’ve read a couple of American Italian cookbooks where they rave about it. And thank you, I had a fabulous time with my sister and nieces, and I’m already missing them terribly!
Sounds delicious Celia the spicy heat of the chorizo would be such a nice match with your greens! Why am I not surprised that you’d need to feed your sons their own spatchcock each as well as measuring their food in ‘sinkfuls’ – most recipes call for spoonfuls or fulfills, but they’re obviously not feeding growing boys :) xox
Becca, the raab cooks down to almost nothing! If we don’t start with a lot, we end up with just a tiny bit.. :)
Wow Celia, a delicious recipe… and how interesting… I don’t think I’ve seen that green!
Liz, it’s a really easy one to grow in the garden!
Cooked in chorizo fat? That sounds AWESOME!!!!
Bless you. That was the bit that had me excited too! :)
rapa is such a great green to have growing..i planted mine a bit late this year so it’s still tiny but i’m looking forward to a late winter harvest..i love it in pasta and soups..i throw it into the pasta water and it cooks at the same time as the pasta..so easy..i would have loved the rapa in your dish too celia especially with the sourdough as you describe..great recipe..x
Jane, I think the rapa flavour just blended so well with the chorizo! Pete likes it straight, and we’re often serving up a big bowl of wilted greens with chilli and garlic as a side.
Oh boy does this sound mouthwatering! Do you know my husband (he does the grocery shopping) claims that they don’t have chorizo here? I’m finding that very hard to believe and since its just one item, I’m sure I can go on an expedition for it myself. I do so love that dish you bought!
Diane, we’ve been on a quest to find good chorizo – so much of it is rubbishy. Maybe your hubby was just being discerning? :) If you can find a good Spanish butcher, they should have great chorizo…
I had the brocolli raab in the garden last year but none this year.. how did that happen!? Love this way of preparing it too, i hope this sticks in my colander brain until next season.. love love.. c
Celi, we think the secret with raab is to twice cook – so boil for a few minutes first, then fry with chilli and garlic. We eat it that way at least a couple of times a week!
Sounds excellent, i will remember.. hope you are having a gorgeous day.. c
What a delicious dinner Celia. I have kale growing in abundance and will try it this way as I’m sure it will be a perfect substitute :)
Tandy, kale would be perfect! Since the raab has taken over, we haven’t planted any kale, which is a shame, as I adore kale chips!
I love cime di rapa in Italy, but I haven’t seen it here. Maybe I will have to grow some on my balcony.
Debra, we’ve had great success with the seeds from the Italian Gardener…
How I envy you your rapini, Celia! I love the stuff. Mom cooked it very much the same way you do. Lately, I sometimes skip the boiling step, though it depends upon what I plan to do with it and if I’m serving guests. Though I’ve grown to lie its bitterness, not everyone agrees with me. Love that you used here with the spatchcocks and chorizo. That must have been one flavorful dish!
John, you should grow it – it’s probably the easiest thing we grow in our garden! I actually think the short boil changes the flavour a bit in a way we really like – plus our leaves can occasionally be a bit spiky. It’s very nice with chorizo!
Beautiful combination of flavours Celia. Did all of you eat those three teeny spatchcocks?. If you made that for me I could nearly eat the lot…
Ha! They weren’t teeny – maybe a size 8 each? :)
Love it!
Thank you! :)
Love the recipe and the cazuela. I wish I have a gas cooker sometimes – it’s difficult to use them if you’re all electric!
Nick, when Pete and I were in an apartment, we had an electric hob as well, but I could never go back – gas cooking suits us so much better. You’re right about the cazuela – it wouldn’t like the electric hotplate much.
Chicken and chorizo, yummm! Love it, Celia :)
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
Thanks Julie! Hope you’re all well – tell me it’s warm up there, because it’s freezing down here!
I love your experimenting Celia and I too smiled at the ‘take one sinkful of broccoli rabe’. It makes me think of the books I’ve read about the resourcefulness of Greek people during WWII gathering bitter greens. I believe that they are also very good for you. I do like your lovely cazuela; I can imagine wanting to think of things to cook in it.
Jan, I keep looking for things to make in it. Love it to bits! And I think that bitter greens always benefit from a quick boil first – it seems to mellow out the flavour. Hope you and Peter and both well! xxx
This looks mouthwatering Celia. Any recipe that included Chorizo always gets me excited. Thank you for sharing. Emma.
Thanks Emma! It was a fun dish to make too! :)
I’ve not tried this lovely, leafy green veg but you describe the flavours so well that I’m craving some.
Sally, it really is the most delicious veg! The bitterness makes it really interesting, and if it’s boiled first, it’s not overwhelming.
Another lovely looking supper dish, mouth watering :) xx
Thanks darling xxx
Thanks for the recipe, Celia. It has taken me a little while to catch up with things! My rapa has grown a treat in the garden, but has now started to flower. However, I am sure that I an still use the leaves, and I love the sound of the way you have cooked them. Time to experiment with mine.
Anne, we eat the flowers as well – the only thing is once they start to flower, the stems seem to harden up a bit, so we strip the leaves off the stems then. Otherwise we eat the whole thing! :)