Patricia's and Broccoli Rabe

Some will tell you that broccoli rabe is too bitter and coarse to be thought of as a truly delectable green. To those people I say: you have never eaten at Patricia's in the Bronx! Patricia's is a homely hole-in-the-wall Morris Ave. Italian that I believe is one of the best two or three Italian restaurants in any New York City borough.

Their pizzas are sublime and their pastas are homemade and fresh. Not to be missed is their exceptional selection of expertly prepared fresh seafood. You will experience Italian cuisine as it truly is meant to be: fresh, simple, and unbelievably tasty. It is not to be missed.

One of Patricia's signature dishes (everything they make is outstanding) is their orrechiette with broccoli rabe. After eating it, I tried to adapt my own recipe and it is actually really delicious. I served it at a dinner party at the home of a very dear friend of mine (my lovely girlfriend) and everyone loved it.

You will need:

a pound of orrechiette (about one box)
4 cloves of fresh garlic, finely chopped
1 cup of onions, diced
4 anchovy filets, from a tin
1 head of broccoli rabe
1.5 tablespoons of EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
salt and pepper to tast

Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. While waiting for the water to reach desired temperature, add a sprinkle of salt and a few drops of the EVOO. Cover pot when waiting for a boil but be sure to remove lid while the pasta is cooking.

In a large, deep skillet, heat the rest of the EVOO and after a minute or so, add the chopped garlic and onions and adjust the heat to high/medium.

While waiting for the garlic and onions to cook, take your broccoli rabe and chop the bottom of the bunch of stems off. Discard. Now, with a large and very sharp knife, chop the rest of the broccoli rabe coarsely. This should be done quickly, there is no need for precision. Just make sure that you keep the stems, just that everything is chopped and reduced in size.

With the pot of water at a boil, add the orrechiete and stir occasionally for 9-10 minutes.

Now, once the onions and garlic have sufficiently browned, add the anchovy filets to the skillet. Stir them and vegetables well and add a small cup of water to the mixture. Turn the heat to medium. the anchovys will disintegrate in a short time but their tasty juices will remain. Now, add the broccoli rabe to the skillet along with some salt and pepper to taste. Stir with a wooden spoon, aggressively. While stirring you should make sure to press down on the rabe so that it is almost ground down. It will at first appear that there is a huge clump of leaves on your stove but don't worry, with heat, eventually the leaves will become less rigid and soften, along with the stems.

Now that the pasta is probably nearly ready and the broccoli rabe is complete as well, drain the water from the pasta and replace on the stove at medium/low heat. Now, place the contents of the skillet directly into the pot and stir well so that the rabe becomes evenly dispersed in the pasta. Add any remaining juices from the skillet as well.

Once the pasta and rabe have sufficiently blended, place into a bowl and sprinkle the top of the pasta generously with lots of thinly grated, flaky parmesan cheese. You should not use store bought grated parmesan. Fresh parmesan is absolutely essential.

Buon appetito!