Ask me what I miss most, in terms of food, about the States and I'll tell you: stock in a jar and dark green, leafy vegetables. But really, I'd happily give up the jarred stock if it meant I could just have my beloved vegetables. There are only so many Gurken and Blumenkohl and Kopfsalate one can eat before ones goes entirely insane with yearning for a pile of boiled, bitter greens.
But one year and 27 days after arriving back in Berlin, I finally found my beloved broccoli rabe. Sitting inncocently in a bin at the front of the Nazar Market (if you leave your computer's sound on while clicking on that link, you're in for a, er, treat) on Wilmersdorfer Strasse, labeled "cime di rape", which is its Italian name, it looked like it was just waiting for me to come along and finally spy it. They also had beautiful piles of very fresh spinach and baby Swiss chard with tiny red ribs for salads.
Dark green, leafy vegetables, agreeably bitter to boot: I've missed you! I can live without mustard greens, without collard greens and Tuscan kale. But a life without broccoli rabe, well, what kind of a life is that, I ask you?
I like to wash and trim the broccoli rabe stalks, then half boil-half steam them in a covered pot with about an inch of water in it. Cook them longer than you think you should: the longer they cook, the sweeter and more tender they'll get. Take it from all the Italian grandmothers in the world, and from me.
Once you've drained your cooked broccoli rabe, you'll have a mess of limpish greens. These can be, among other things:
a. dressed with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon
b. sautéed in a pan with olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes and salt (crucial)
The best thing about the second option is that this can be used as a pasta sauce. Just make sure you save a little bit of the starchy cooking water to toss with the pasta and vegetables, in case of dryness. Grated Parmigiano on top brings it all together. (If you happen to have a stash of fresh Italian sausage lying around, you can crumble it into the same frying pan as the broccoli to cook while the pasta boils.)
Nazar Market
Wilmersdorfer Strasse 132
10627 Berlin
I've walked past that shop so many times without ever suspecting it contained such treasures. I've never tried broccoli rabe so can't wait to become a convert.
Posted by: Vanessa | January 15, 2011 at 11:44 AM
He He, that tune really stays with you. Doing the boogy woogy now.
Fantastic find!
Posted by: Suzy | January 15, 2011 at 12:25 PM
I love Better than Bouillon! I'm still amazed how much flavor that magic jar can pack. I also love my greens...I would hate to have to choose!
Posted by: Eileen | January 15, 2011 at 01:14 PM
I do not understand why you can not find stock in jars? There are many regular producers as well as highend products available. Need some help?
Posted by: Andreas | January 15, 2011 at 04:28 PM
Andreas - I suppose I should have been more specific: Better Than Bouillon is a stock concentrate so it lasts quite a long time but is made with real ingredients unlike dehydrated soup bases. Jarred stock in Germany is much more expensive than it is in the US. And I'm not a fan of bouillon cubes or the aforementioned dehydrated soup "Granulat".
Posted by: Luisa | January 15, 2011 at 05:51 PM
bouncy music :) mmm--green veggies. winter would be quite sad without them!
Posted by: jonquil | January 16, 2011 at 08:14 AM
This is indeed great news, will have to find it!
Posted by: Della | January 16, 2011 at 10:54 AM
Don't know if this compares but my Munich supermarket carries stock pastes from the brand "Jürgen Langbein". Had never seen something like this here and I actually quite liked the chicken boullion paste. Maybe that's what you're looking for?
Posted by: Kathi | January 19, 2011 at 04:05 PM
Every time I spot that polka-dot plate it makes me smile. I'm glad you and broccoli rabe have been reunited!
Posted by: Sylee | January 20, 2011 at 06:08 AM
Funny, I have never seen it raw, mostly because I didn't know what to look for, but I get my fix from Bar Bianco, a cafe that makes sandwiches with it and thick slices of cheese.
Posted by: Daniel | January 23, 2011 at 04:16 PM
Hi Luisa,
When I used to live in Milan I ate alot of them when they are in season, and eat them with orecchiette, but never with spaghetti. That's the traditional way people eat it in Puglia :) To better bind them, add thinly sliced potato when you boil the pasta, it will turn out cremier and nicer :)
Posted by: eva | February 7, 2011 at 07:30 AM
Hi Luisa,
I thought you might like to know (although you may have already figured it out) that I finally figured out the German names for broccoli rabe and lacinato kale. The former is called Stängelkohl and the latter Schwarzkohl (I had been telling people who asked about the lacinato in my garden that it was "italienischer Grünkohl" as a general approximation for "Tuscan kale").
Anyway, knowing these names helped me to find seeds on a Swiss seed vendor's site which I just might order for the community garden!
http://www.samen.ch/de/shop.aspx?pg=819&p=794&k=2
Will let you know if I can get it to grow in the Berlin climate. My "italienischer Grünkohl" was very scraggly last year.
Posted by: Leslie | February 9, 2011 at 03:12 PM
Kathi - the Langbein pastes are really expensive, so I can't afford to cook with them as often as I need bouillon paste.
Eva - you are right, in Puglia one always eats broccoletti with orecchiette!
Leslie - go for it! Keep me posted on how the growing goes. :)
Posted by: Luisa | February 14, 2011 at 02:59 AM