broccoli raab

Photo courtesy of hgplants.com

The fine, tender shoots of broccoli raab are delicious steamed, sauteed or stir fried. However, over the last week or so the broccoli raab in the edible landscape has been flowering like crazy, and the shoots have become very long, slender and tough. When sauteed they ended up tough and stringy with the not-so-tantalizing flavor of slightly bitter broccoli. So what to do with the huge bin we've harvested? Broccoli raab pesto! Basil or spinach could be added to the following recipe to sweeten the flavor, but made with only the broccoli raab, it turned out very tasty, and was great on pasta!

Broccoli Raab Pesto
Quantities are up to you, since they're totally dependent on taste.

Lots of broccoli raab shoots (with flowers is ok)
Good quality olive oil
Grated Parmesan cheese
Pine nuts or almonds
Salt

Coarsely chop broccoli raab shoots. Blanch in boiling water just until tender. Remove from heat and plunge into cold water. Drain and squeeze all excess water from shoots. In a food processor, pulse shoots with nuts until finely ground. Begin adding olive oil in a stream until mixture is smooth. Add Parmesan cheese to taste and pulse until incorporated. Add salt to taste. Serve on pasta or any way you would use basil pesto.