photo provided courtesy of elanaspantry.com

I confess, I have an addiction to broccoli rabe. I love the bitter flavor of this delicious green vegetable. I have always believed that bitter is such an important, yet under rated flavor in our culture.

I think a lot of people drink coffee for the bitter flavor that we all need so badly. My Ayurvedic teachers used to say, “bitter is better for pitta.” Pitta is the fire element and bitter is quite good for not only cleansing the liver, it is also wonderful for cooling the body during the hot time of year.

When I need a fix of bitter and I don’t have any broccoli rabe on hand, I turn to my favorite herbal coffee substitute –a nice little brew of dandelion and chicory root.

In any event, here’s a yummy little broccoli rabe recipe for y’all right now!

ingredients
1 bunch broccoli rabe, trim off tough stems on bottom
2 tablespoons olive oil
10 garlic cloves
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet
2. Add garlic to skillet and cook over medium heat until lightly browned, a few minutes
3. Add broccoli rabe to skillet, and cook until wilted
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
5. Transfer to a bowl and serve

I planted a little row of broccoli rabe in our front yard and got a decent harvest from it in June. It bolted though and now I have replanted another crop, and hopefully I will get more. Another wonderfully bitter green is dandelion, though I don’t like it as much as I do my broccoli rabe.

What is your favorite green and how do you like to prepare it?

What is your favorite flavor? In Ayurveda we were taught that there are 6 flavors –bitter, sweet, sour, salty, pungent and astringent. It’s odd living in a culture that places so much emphasis on sweet and salty, when there are 4 other important flavors.

recipe courtesy elanaspantry.com