Meet Raab

Few thing smell better to me than garlic simmering in butter. Many of my recipes start this way, some healthier than others. My not so healthy indulgence, linguini in clam sauce, is one of my favorites. Since I only make it once or twice a year, I savor every bite. At this time of year, however, my simmering garlic is for the broccoli raab that I just picked up at the market this afternoon. Broccoli raab is one of my top three green vegetables. I think I could probably eat it every day for a month and still not get sick of it.

Not everyone feels this way about it. Usually when the subject comes up (and, believe it or not, it comes up quite often), people will say they don’t care for it because it’s too bitter. Yes, it is bitter, and if it’s made in the traditional Italian way (I assume it’s the traditional way since I only ever see it in Italian restaurants), it is quite bitter. Not mine.

But before I get to my non-bitter recipe (and if you’re one of those who thinks you don’t care for it, you MUST try this recipe—I know I’ll convert you, that is if you are already a vegetable lover—which you SHOULD be), let me tell you a little about how wonderful this vegetable is.

Broccoli raab (aka rapini) is a member of the Brassica family of vegetables along with broccoli, spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, collard greens, pak choi and kohlrabi. These vegetables contain phytonutrients that help our liver detoxify chemicals that are potential carcinogens (cancer causing). That alone is reason to add these veggies to our regular diet.

Aside from the cancer preventing benefits, broccoli raab also contains numerous vitamins and minerals, calcium being a substantial one. Other big hitters are iron, and vitamins K, E, and A. The best part—the caloric intake is light for such a nutritional punch. It also, like most other vegetables, has the necessary dietary fiber that we all need to keep our digestive tracts functioning at their best. Let me also put the plug in for it being an anti-inflammatory vegetable, though there are other more famous ones that help heal inflammation.

So, give it a try if you haven’t and give it another try if you have and didn’t care for it. I’ve gotten rave reviews.

Deb’s Broccoli Raab

1 bunch broccoli raab (rapini)

4 cloves garlic, crushed and sliced

½ cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

1 Tablespoon clarified butter

Bring a 2 quart saucepan filled with water to a boil. Trim the woody ends of the broccoli raab, but keep the bunch together. Once the water boils, add the broccoli raab and blanch for two minutes. Strain and put on a large cutting board. Chop it to 1-2 inch size pieces. In a large sauté pan, melt butter at medium high heat. Add garlic and sauté until fragrance can be smelled (pause and savor). Add broccoli raab and sauté for a minute or so. Add stock and heat for another 5-7 minutes at medium heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

The Mighty Sea Vegetable

As I was making my dinner tonight, I was thinking about how good it would taste and how I should eat more sea vegetables. What are sea vegetables, you ask? Simply put, they are sea weeds. And there are a wide variety of edible sea weeds, believe it or not. Asian cultures have been eating sea vegetables for thousands of years. That may be part of the reason the Japanese and Chinese are some of the healthiest people on Earth.

Sea vegetables are one of the best sources of iodine, which is a mineral we all need for proper thyroid function. They are anti-inflammatory and loaded with phytonutrients. They are packed with vitamin K, Folate and Magnesium and have calcium and iron as well to make one of the world's healthiest vegetables.

Some of the more well known edible sea vegetables are dulse, kelp, hijiki, nori, kombu, wakame, and arame. Many of these are used in traditional Japanese cuisine. If you are a sushi lover, you already are familiar with nori (it's what the rice is wrapped in) and may also be familiar with wakame (that's what's at the bottom of your miso soup) as well as hijiki and arame which is in their standard "seaweed salad." I use kombu pieces when I cook beans to cut down on the gassy enzymes. Kelp is a great seasoning for soups as is dulse. Besides seasonings, most sea vegetables are best used in salads and soups.

You can buy sea vegetables at most health food stores. Give them a try!

Here's my dinner recipe. It's delicious!

Deb's Seaweed Salad

1 cucumber, peeled and sliced thinly

1/4 cup instant wakame flakes

1/4 vidalia onion sliced thinly

1 tsp gomasio (Japanese seasoning with sesame seeds and sea salt)

1 Tbs soy sauce

1 Tbs ponzu sauce (a citrus based sauce used in Japanese cuisine)

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Add a cup of water to the wakame flakes and let sit for 10 minutes. Strain the water. Toss the wakame and the remaining ingredients together in a big bowl and let stand for 30 mintutes in order for the flavors to blend and soak into the seaweed and cucumbers. Can be refrigerated and eaten the next day as well.