While Skyping with Lindsay at some point this week, I mentioned that I purchased some broccoli raab. Her reaction was “but you hate broccoli raab!”, and she was right! I can’t remember a single encounter with it, in a restaurant or otherwise, that I have really enjoyed.

But, Lindsay’s not around and we have a blog on local food and the raab is the thing right now (the raab, the ramps, and asparagus). . . . → Read More: Me vs. Broccoli Raab (Ginger-Honey Broccoli Raab)]]>

While Skyping with Lindsay at some point this week, I mentioned that I purchased some broccoli raab. Her reaction was “but you hate broccoli raab!”, and she was right! I can’t remember a single encounter with it, in a restaurant or otherwise, that I have really enjoyed.

But, Lindsay’s not around and we have a blog on local food and the raab is the thing right now (the raab, the ramps, and asparagus). For ramps, eat them raw wrapped around a piece of cheese. As for asparagus, I’m good with asparagus and will post on it soon. But first comes the raab. I had to try.

Lindsay pointed me to this recipe in one of her cookbooks (3 Bowls : Vegetarian Recipes from an American Zen Buddhist Monastery), and the verdict is: winner! I don’t know whether it’s a better preparation than I’ve had before or whether my tastes have changed. I do eat a lot more vegetables now. In any case, you should try it because it is very good for you, and this is a good gateway recipe.

One thing about broccoli raab (or rabe, or rape) is that it only loosely related to broccoli. It’s also called Rapini. Usually when a food is named after another food it’s a total misnomer. It can be confusing. If you are at a farmer’s market and dealing with a new plant, just ask about it. They will be happy to tell you what it is, what it tastes like, how to prepare it, etc.

Ginger-Honey Broccoli Raab

Makes 2 servings as a main or 4 as a side

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Cut the ends off of the raab; remove the last inch of stem. Cut the rest into segments that are about 1.5 inches long, all the way up the stems as well as the leafy parts.

   

2. Add the TBsp of salt to a pot of water and put it on the stove on high to get the boiling started.
3. Mince the garlic. Grate the ginger (as we’ve said before, we use only frozen fresh ginger because it is so much easier to grate).

   

4. Heat the oil in a skillet or pan over medium heat for about one minute. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté for about three minutes. Measure out the honey and lemon juice while you do this.

   

5. Stir in the honey and lemon juice and cook while stirring vigorously for about one minute. Turn off the heat.

   

6. Whenever the pot of water is at a boil, add the broccoli raab and let it boil for two minutes. Drain it through a colander and give it a few good shakes to dry it off. Toss it around with tongs or salad serving utensils while it’s in the colander in the sink. Put the raab and the ginger-honey glaze into a bowl and toss to coat. Simple!

[UPDATE: After publishing this post, I saw how the picture at the end of it ran straight into the picture of our chili mole. What can I say? In the winter we make a lot of food that is served in bowls (stews, soups, chili). I guess this is our standard pic!]

We know we’ve been a bit MIA lately. Lindsay was travelling again M-Th for work (as she has been for most of . . . → Read More: How to Make Chana Masala]]>

[UPDATE: After publishing this post, I saw how the picture at the end of it ran straight into the picture of our chili mole. What can I say? In the winter we make a lot of food that is served in bowls (stews, soups, chili). I guess this is our standard pic!]

We know we’ve been a bit MIA lately. Lindsay was travelling again M-Th for work (as she has been for most of 2011 to date). I was also away for 5 days, and when I got home I was horribly ill for another 3.

We’ve managed to keep up our eating habits, but mostly through quick and easy meals. Between that and the fact that we’ve been using the same basic Dark Days ingredients since December, that means we didn’t make much worth posting about or that we haven’t already posted. One more month and we will be out of Dark Days, and we can already see the light at the end! We’re trying to figure out what to do for April, which is going to be another busy Dark Days month for both of us.

In the meantime, we DID make a nice chana masala that’s worth posting. Granted, our chickpeas are not local, so it’s isn’t a pure Dark Days recipe. Also, if you don’t have tomatoes canned from the summer, those be local. But after 4 dark months, we’re willing to bend the definitions a bit. Enjoy!

Chana masala
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients

Directions:

1. If you are using dried chickpeas (which we recommend), cook the chickpeas, overnight if needed. Even though they sound exotic and look weird, chickpeas are a legume just like any other bean, so you can follow our instruction on how to cook dried beans. If you make a bulk of beans in the slow cooker, you can refrigerate or freeze the rest for later use.

   If you do this in advance, be sure to set aside 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid when the beans are ready because it will add a nice starchiness that brings the chana masala together, as opposed to water or broth. Measure out 4 cups of the cooked chickpeas.

2. Dice the onions, mince the garlic, and then add the ginger. Our trick is to always keep a few whole ginger roots in a ziploc bag in the freezer. It’s easy to then use a Microplane to grate the frozen ginger. If you’ve ever tried to grate soft, fresh ginger, you know what a horrible experience that can be because it is so fibrous. This makes it a lot easier.

   

3. Heat a Dutch oven or large skillet over high heat. Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds, stirring frequently, until they start popping. It’s important to use whole seeds here, and not ground.

   When they start popping, lower the heat to medium, add the oil, and stir for about 1 minute. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook until the onions soften, about 5 minutes.

   

4. Add the remaining ingredients (chickpeas, tomatoes, water/broth, and spices). Give it a good stir and reduce the heat to low / medium-low. Cook for 45 minutes, stirring it every now and then.

   

5. Chana masala is nice served over rice. We had leftover rice from Chinese takeout earlier in the week. The way it reheats (a little stale and crunchy) is perfect. Just give it a quick fluff-up with a fork.

   

That’s all there is to an exotic-sounding and healthy Indian dish!