sauteed shitake and broccoli rabe

Spring has sprung and so has my appetite for all things green.  Hence, this week I nabbed a new green item from the grocery store that I had never tried before: broccoli rabe.  Apparently, this is also known as rapini.  If you've never tried it, I'm obviously recommending you use the application in this recipe to combine it with other vegetables for a healthy meal or side dish.  The texture was really nice with shitakes, and mushrooms also gave the rabe a richness to balance its freshness.  The taste will remind you of broccoli, but more delicate and with the slight bitterness of spinach.  I may not be describing it well, but perhaps just saying that broccoli rabe will now be part of my normal repertoire is the best selling point.  

Like spinach, broccoli rabe is a vegetable that can be made to feel rich and filling without adding a million calories to your day.  I couldn't help but top it with a fried egg to get a good, rich coating of yolk (liquid gold), but it was really delicious without the extra cholesterol, as well.

If you were around for the Moroccan Stuffed Eggplant post, you know that I'm trying to trim down a little.  So far my results have been...mixed.  I started working out again and have been eating much healthier, but if you've ever been to Chicago on a sunny day over 50 degrees than you know that eating outside is a Chicagoans favorite thing to do.  So this weekend was packed with with food-hopping activities with family and friends.  I did my best to avoid multiple opportunities for french toast, but fell victim to candied bacon (yeah I didn't think that sounded good either, but trust me, you are wrong) and a slice of Sweet Mandy B's birthday cake.  Luckily, the time spent outdoors burned off a few extra calories.

So, despite the egg, the sauteed shitake and broccoli rabe is putting me back on track for this week.

Ingredients (makes 2-3 servings):

• 1 head of broccoli rabe, stems trimmed
• 2 cups shitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced 
• 4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tbsp. butter (or you could use olive oil, but I really like shitakes with butter)
• 1/4 cup vegetable stock (or white wine)
• salt to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil while you trim and slice your vegetables.

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, melt 1/4 tbsp. of butter and add the onions.  Salt, and cook until browned and soft (about 6 minutes).  Add the garlic and cook for another 3 minutes.  Then, melt the additional 1/4 of butter in the pan before adding the shitakes and vegetable stock.  Season with salt.  Turn up the heat and sautee until browned.

Meanwhile, drop the broccoli rabe in the boiling water to blanch for about 3-4 minutes.  Drain, add to the frying pan with the shitake and onion, and cover until the rabe is completely softened.

Remove the cover and allow the juices released to simmer off.  Add any salt needed.  Serve topped with a fried egg, if you wish.