Comments on: The fourth color in the rainbow

By: Lauren

Lauren — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:10:00 +0000

I am eating this right now, and it is awesome. Thank you for having a quick, simple recipe to keep the broccoli rabe in my fridge from going bad! Nomnomnom. Also, bought you book today… can’t wait!

By: Molly

Molly — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 01:00:00 +0000

J. Bo, that's so interesting! I wonder if it's the iron, as Lindy suggested, or something else? I haven't done much in the way of scientific studies, but Brandon, at least, is sort of indifferent to bitter greens. That seems to support Lindy and Laurie's statements. On the other hand, though, my dear friend Nicho <><>adores<><> Swiss chard - but that could be because he was raised in a home with a garden full of the stuff. Hmmm. I wonder...Julie, my dear, sometimes I think we share one palate! Thank you, Mindy. That bowl of polenta is a good idea...

By: Mindy T.

Mindy T. — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 06:47:00 +0000

In my world, broccoli rabe gets sauteed with lots of garlic and maybe some dried tomatoes and then gets tossed with pasta or dresses up a bowl or polenta. But, hey, little crostini… never thought of that. Love your blog, love your pics.http://mindycooks.blogspot.com

By: Julie

Julie — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 14:41:00 +0000

I too find that my palate often craves green in my food palette — with a special hankering for bitter greens, and the place of honor reserved for my favorite, broccoli rabe. I have always made it EXACTLY by the method you describe here, which was a melange of Laurie Colwin and Sally Schneider, who ascribes the method to Patience Gray (Honey From A Weed). But I have never tried it on garlic toast, which sounds absolutely delectable! And I am the luckiest of women in this respect: my guy, who has a list yea-long of all the things he WON’T eat, loves broccoli rabe, especially with lots of garlic and red pepper flakes.

By: J. Bo

J. Bo — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 20:22:00 +0000

Lindy, the late great Laurie Colwin wrote in one of her pieces that a friend told her not to bother trying to serve bitter greens to men– they don’t appreciate them the way women do!

By: Molly

Molly — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 22:09:00 +0000

Anali, I like your mom. Smart lady!Lapis, that sandwich does certainly sound memorable, although I'm not entirely sure of whether that's a good thing or not! And as for the garlic scapes, I love them too. I always keep my eyes peeled for them at the farmers' market...There really is something about broccoli, isn't there, jenjen? When cooked properly, it's fairly mild, so that may be why kids go for it - although your tree idea is much more fun. If you'd believe it, though, broccoli actually isn't related to broccoli rabe, which is what I use here. The little flowers that grow from broccoli rabe look similar to broccoli florets, so it's deceiving! You can read more about broccoli rabe < HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broccoli_rabe" REL="nofollow">here<>.But you said "anything," wheresmymind! Dessert is part of "anything," right? Hello there, Sarah - so glad you found me! I'm going to hop over to your blog right now and look for that bruschetta you mentioned. I love prosciutto, and 'tis the season for basil..Nico, I'm kicking myself now for not having saved the entire menu! I tore out only the page for the broccoli rabe, meatloaf, and rigatoni. Argh.Tokyoastrogirl, I wish I'd thought of that. I'd better go buy more broccoli rabe, and some wine...Lindy, your iron hypothesis certainly makes good sense. I remember once, during my pseudo vegetarian years, having a very intense dream about a hamburger, and I woke up knowing that I just <>had<> to have one. I knew it must have been the iron - and all that delicious beefy flavor too. Mmm, iron.Garrett, I've never even heard of Spanish broccoli. For shame! I'll keep my eyes open for it, and I'll be sure to have plenty of garlic on hand.

By: Garrett

Garrett — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 21:34:00 +0000

If you ever get a chance to work with <>Spanish Broccoli<> (the spiky lookin' kind!) it's totally yumtastic. Always worth a try if you can find it. My mom would always serve it with whole roasted garlic and whatever cheese happened to be on hand Stilton, cheddar, and gorgonzola being the favorites!*drool of fodd lust ensues*Oh the memories you just evoked in my brain fill me with squealing, tasty joy!

By: lindy

lindy — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 12:12:00 +0000

Broccoli rabe is indeed beautiful. I do believe though, that a nutritional need probably plays some part in the intensely physical cravings I get for bitter greens. It just feels so anatomical! Sometimes nothing else will do.Have you noticed that more women than men seem to appreciate these delicious, lovely vegs? My non-scientific intuition is that it may have something to do with iron.

By: Tokyoastrogirl

Tokyoastrogirl — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 23:46:00 +0000

This dish + glass of crisp, New Zealand sauvignon blanc = The Perfect Summer Meal. Can't wait to try it, thanks;).

By: Nico

Nico — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 22:07:00 +0000

First thing I thought when I saw your pictures: "Hey, where did she get hold of my pictures?" :-D No really, coincidentally, I made these delicious bruschette for a bunch of friends when I threw a goodbye party before I left Chapel Hill for the summer. They were Italian, and they had nothing but praise for this oh-so simple dish. I served it as a starter to a longer dinner. Even worse, I'm almost ashamed to say that I made the entire menu from that Gourmet issue. There was something about the pictures and the longing for Italian summer that I just *had* to go for the whole deal. The rigatoni were good -- especially serving the ricotta on the side is a nice detail and adds color and lets you experiment with the different tastes. The meat loaf with boiled eggs were spectacular to watch, but I wasn't too impressed by the mashed potato pie. An OK side but nothing special. What surprised me were the peas with mint. They go soooo well together. Anyway, try it, overall the meat, potatoes and peas balance out each other quite well. Oh, and I made the ricotta cake, but at another occasion. ;-) Another big success, not too sweet, nice crust, and beautifully moist (and it stayed like that for several days).