My sister-in-law got me hooked on broccoli rabe. She would make broccoli rabe with garlic and oil at Thanksgiving. This could be a meal in itself, cooked with Italian sausage and chicken stock. She would make it so much that I never thought to even ask her for the recipe. When I finally did ask her, twenty-five years later, she said, “You boil it, sauté it in oil and garlic and serve it.” Well, I boiled it until the stems were just tender, drained it, sautéed it in a sauce pan with garlic and oil until it looked like what she served. Then, just recently, my husband, my son and I went to a local restaurant and I saw it on the menu. I was so excited to see broccoli rabe on the menu. Now, my son eats broccoli (steamed, baked, raw – however it’s served). I didn’t think he wold like it so I ordered it as an appetizer and figured I would bring some leftovers for my lunch the next day. Well, boy, oh boy – he like liked it, my husband liked it (but said not something he (my husband) would eat all the time). The plate was finished before I could get a second serving. After that, I said I needed to replicate the recipe at home. This is when I figured the pressure cooker would come in really handy and cut the cooking the down by half-an hour.

This is what I did:

In a dutch over, crock pot, insta pot or what I use (my Quick Cooker), sauté two Italian sausage (you could use chicken sausage, hot Italian, or sweet Italian) in a tablespoon of olive oil. Once cooked through, add broccoli rabe (rinse, chop very small pieces), placing them in the quick cooker. Throw in 2 cloves of garlic (3 if you like strong garlic taste), 1 teaspoon of chicken stock (I use better than broth), 1/4 teaspoon of oregano, salt ( a pinch), and pepper (grind approximately 5 turns). Turn pressure cooker option on for Quick Cooker – it should be done in about 30 minutes. (NOTE: if using 1 tsp of better than broth, add 1 cup of water to recipe. This will make is soupy. If not adding water, add 1/4 tsp of better than broth. The broccoli rabe makes it’s own liquid from when rinsed in this case.

You can use a dutch over for this, following the same directions – you would just have to cook a little longer (until the broccoli rabe is tender).

Please send any questions my way.