Polenta with Rapini

So easy and yet so good. If you can handle stirring for 10 minutes straight, you can make this. That's really all there is to it. It's one of my favourite make ahead dishes. You can add any vegetable you like, but I love it with rapini (aka broccoli rabe) because rapini is just so mean and cranky. Just kidding...I mean bitter.

It's really tasty warmed up with some spicy tomato sauce on top, but a cold wedge straight out of the fridge is good, too.

Polenta with Rapini

1 cup of organic cornmeal (I like organic 'cause it is untreated with pesticides and non-GMO)

1 head of rapini

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 cup of cold water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Wash and chop rapini, removing the woody ends of the stalks. In a large frying pan, sautee the rapini in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, just until wilted, but not crisp. Sprinkle with a bit of salt to taste. Set aside.

Grease a pie plate with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and set aside. Bring 2 3/4 cups of water to boil in a medium sized pot. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, combine cornmeal and 1 cup of water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Slowly add cornmeal to the boiling water, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and continue to stir, until mixture is very thick...at least 10 minutes. Add rapini to the cornmeal mixture and immediately pour into the pie plate, spreading as evenly as you can. (The mixture will start to get thicker and harder to work with as it cools.) If you like, brush a bit more oil on the top and bake for about 20 minutes, until the polenta is hot and set. If you add the oil to the top, it will start to get just a bit crispy, too. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. Serve hot or cold.

Barley with Chicken and Rapini

Barley deserves a more prominent place at my table. Chewy and slightly nutty, it works in casseroles, salads, stews, or anywhere else you need a grain with some texture. This recipe was easy and turned out perfectly. If you use regular, instead of low-sodium stock, it won't need any extra salt. And the bitter rapini will balance the flavours.

Barley with Chicken and Rapini
Serves 2

4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 rib of celery, diced
1/2 medium white onion, chopped
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced
1 cup pot barley, rinsed
3 cups water + one chicken bouillon cube
or
1 cup of water + 2 cups of chicken stock
2 cups chopped rapini

In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add onion and celery and sautee until soft. Add diced chicken and cook until browned slightly. Add barley and the water + stock or bouillon cube and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes, until the barley is tender, but still slightly chewy. (You may have to add a bit more water...check part way through cooking.) In the meantime, sautee the rapini in a separate pan. When the barley is cooked and all the water absorbed, add the rapini and stir. Season with fresh ground black pepper to taste. (optional: serve with plain yogurt on the side.)

Spaghettini with Rapini and Walnuts

Grown-up greens...

Rapini, also known as Broccoli Rabe, is delicious, but it can be very bitter. However, I’ve discovered that if it doesn’t smell bitter, it doesn’t seem to taste bitter. It may be a matter of buying it in season, and since it’s a cool weather crop, in the Northern Hemisphere that means fall to spring.

My dad grew up eating rapini, but he called it “greens” so I didn’t realize they were one and the same until a few years ago. He boiled it, which meant that as a kid, (even a kid who liked vegetables), I thought that it must be slimy. And, I assumed I wouldn’t like it. I can’t believe what I was missing.


Spaghettini with Rapini and Walnuts

whole grain pasta of your choice
one half of a head of rapini
1/4 cup of walnuts
2 cloves of garlic, minced
olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook pasta according to directions. Wash, chop coarsely and sautee rapini in olive oil with garlic until wilted, but still a bit crisp. Add walnuts and toast as rapini cooks for another 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Drain pasta and toss with rapini and walnuts. Drizzle with olive oil and toss again. Adjust seasoning to taste.