Baked Broccoli Rabe With Parmesan

Mark BittmanTime 25 minutes Yield 6 servings

Broccoli rabe usually doesn’t make it past a sauté pan with garlic and olive oil, nor does it need to. But the extra step of baking it in the oven with a shower of grated Parmesan on top — a suggestion from the chef John Schenk that was written up in a 1997 Minimalist column — is one to try. Blanch the broccoli rabe until it’s bright green and nearly tender, then cook it in a pan with golden toasted garlic. From there, put it in a baking dish, sprinkle with cheese, and bake until it the cheese melts, which Parmesan does unevenly — but in a good way. This is a recipe that can easily be started, stopped and picked back up later, either after the blanching or after the sautéing. It can also be served at room temperature, so despite the three-step cooking process, it’s pretty flexible.

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Ingredients

Salt
3 pounds broccoli rabe, washed and trimmed
2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil, plus some for greasing the pan
10 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preparation

Step 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drop broccoli rabe into the water, and cook until bright green and tender, about 3 minutes. Remove, and plunge into ice water. Drain.
Step 2
Place 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet, and turn heat to medium-high. Toast garlic in oil until golden. Chop broccoli rabe into pieces, about an inch or two long, and add to skillet. Toss, then turn off heat.
Step 3
Add broccoli rabe mixture to a baking dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese, and bake until cheese melts, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.