Ciao!! My guest post today is from the lovely Cathi Iannone of The Brooklyn Ragazza, a fantastic blog that is right up my alley!! I am so excited that she is sharing her AMAZING recipe for Broccoli Rapini and Orecchiette with Gremolata!! Please be sure to drop by her wonderful blog, like her on facebook and follow her on pinterest and twitter @CathiNYC. Ciao for now!!
If you're
from my neck of the woods, broccoli rapini & orecchiette...well, that's
what's up! Okay, okay, I have a confession to make. We call it broccoli rabe
& HATS. I know; it's a misnomer, or, to some, a misdemeanor. Technically,
in Italian, "orecchiette" means little ears, not hats. Nope, not even
close. But, because of their shape, we, affectionately, call them
hats. Plus, hats has one syllable, and orecchiette has
FIVE. You get where I'm going with this? I hope I'm building a strong
case here...
Seriously,
though, it wasn't until I studied Italian language in college, that I actually
converted, myself, but for the record, I do, secretly, use the misnomer in
certain company. Although, I would not recommend doing this in the
earshot of a native Italian, unless you want to be dealt a cross look. I'm
kidding... a little bit. Hey, it's a beautiful, romantic, melodic
language, and they take it seriously. So, I respect that.
The
flip-side to that coin, would be correcting an Italian American, Utican that
says "hats," or truncates the vowel off the end of Italian
words. You'll be dealt the same cross look, in tandem with an eye-roll,
which translates to, an unenthusiastic, "who cares." So, I just
go with the flow, and embrace the colloquialism when I need to. Hey, when in
Rome...and in this case, Utica/Rome. Literally.
So, let's
talk about orecchiette for a moment. It's a very, "toothsome" pasta
form Puglia, Italy, and is usually made by hand, using a small, paddle-shaped
tool, called la rasola. Orecchiette is, usually, (and best)
purchased fresh, but I found a descent quality, dry orecchiette at Whole
Foods Market for just a couple bucks. It can be found at other specialty
stores, and, surely, at your local salumeria, that should carry an abundance of
imported, high-quality Italian goods.
Angelina,
an elderly Pugliese woman, that used to live downstairs from me at my old place
in Brooklyn, always made her own fresh orecchiette using the rasola, and
informed me that this particular broccoli rapini dish is, actually, a Roman
dish, and it happens to be very popular in the Southern regions of Italy.
It's no wonder it is so popular in my hometown; most Italian families that
emigrated to the Upstate NY area are from Italy's Southern regions. Even with
this commonality, the dialects still vary from family to family, depending on
the region.
If I
dared to utter the misnomer, "hats," to Angelina, she would, no
doubt, look at me sideways with a grimace, and mumble, "what you
talk?" Of course, she would mean this in the most lighthearted, humorous
sense, as she was always jib-jabbing in the cutest way. But still, I kept this
little, secret vernacular to myself. And, as Shakespeare once wrote, "a
rose by any other name, is still a rose..." -so with that wisdom, let's
put semantics aside, raise our glasses up, and mangiamo tutti! ~ let's eat
everyone!
BROCCOLI RAPINI &
ORECCHIETTE WITH GREMOLATA
INGREDIENTS:
2 bunches of broccoli rapini
(rabe)
2 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of white wine (plus, more
for drinking)
5 cloves of garlic (minced
finely, or use garlic press)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
½ cup of grated Pecorino Romano
cheese
½ cup of gremolata (see recipe
below)
Sea salt and cracked black
pepper, to taste
1 pound of orecchiette pasta (or,
cavatelli)
GREMOLATA:
1 – 1 ½ cups of plain breadcrumbs
(not Italian)
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of anchovy paste
(optional)
1 garlic clove (pushed though
garlic press)
1 red hot cherry pepper (minced
finely)*
¼ cup of fresh Italian parsley
(chopped finely)
1 teaspoon of grated lemon zest
Sea salt and cracked black
pepper, to taste
*may use red pepper flakes
instead
PREPARATION:
1.) Trim away about 3-4 inches of
the broccoli rapini stems and rinse, thoroughly (the stems can be a bit
fibrous).
2.) In a large sauté pan, on very
low heat, combine olive oil, butter, minced garlic and hot pepper flakes.
Sauté for a few minutes so the garlic and hot pepper infuse the oil.
3.) Turn the heat up to
medium-high and add the chicken broth and wine, then add the rinsed broccoli
rapini. Cover and allow liquid to boil.
4.) Once liquid is boiling, turn
down to a low simmer and allow broccoli rapini to steam down for about 15-20
minutes (turning every few minutes.) At this point, add salt and pepper, to
taste.
5.) Meanwhile, to prepare
gremolata, in a heavy-bottom sauce pan, on very low heat, add the olive oil,
garlic, anchovy paste, and minced hot cherry pepper. Stir for about 2 minutes
to infuse flavors in the oil.
6.) Add about 1 cup of the
bread crumbs, lemon zest, and parsley. Stir thoroughly to incorporate all the
oil mixture with the breadcrumbs. If the mixture is still too “oily,” just add
a bit more breadcrumbs. After about 5 minutes (while stirring constantly) the
mixture will be golden brown and crispy. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
Set aside.
7.) After about 20 minutes of the
broccoli rapini simmering, add about ½ cup of the gremolata mixture and toss to
incorporate. This will thicken the broth mixture, slightly. Also, add the
grated Pecorino Romano cheese and toss again. The broth should now have a
little body to it.
8.) Prepare orecchiette in
liberally salted water. Once pasta is cooked to el dente, drain and add pasta
to the broccoli rapini, starting with one quarter of the pasta at a time. You
may add as little, or as much, depending on your liking. ( I did not add
the entire pound, but that’s me..) Allow pasta to cook a little
longer in the mixture to pick up the flavors and blossom (about 5 minutes).
9.) Serve with more gremolata as
topping, additional grated cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Buon Appetito!
COOK'S NOTES:
May substitute cavatelli, or other short, toothsome pasta for the orecchiette,
if you do not have orecchiette. Just do NOT use shells, or other flimsy pasta,
as it will break in the dish. It NEEDS to be a sturdy pasta that can soak up
the broth and infuse flavor into the pasta. You may use more broth, if you like
the dish "soupier." Also, optional ADD-INS: try adding
prosciutto, or Italian sausage (already browned), or, toss a handful of
pine nuts in at the end.
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