Broccoli Rabe with Garlic, Chile, and Mustard Bread Crumbs
De Arbol (Capsicum Annuum) means tree like in Spanish. The plant has thick, upright, woody stems and the chile itself is narrow, curved and bright red in color. Believed to be closely related to the pequin, the De Arbol is thin fleshed, with tannic, smoky, grassy flavor and searing heat. This chile has a heat range of 7.5 on the heat scale of 1-10. De Arbol Chiles are comparable to a Cayenne Pepper. Scoville heat units 15,000 to 30,000.
Suggested Use:
De Arbol is a hot chile and a staple in Southwest kitchens. Add some heat to your next salsa or Mexican dish. Be adventurous and add them to your next stew or chili along with the other spices. Add some heat to your next salsa or Mexican dish.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbsp. thyme leaves
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
kosher salt
3 pounds broccoli rabe, thick stems discarded
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 shallots, thinly sliced
2 dried chiles de arbol or other dried red chiles, stemmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal
freshly ground pepper
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375F. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the mustard, parsley and 1 tsp. of the thyme and remove from the heat. Let cool for 3 minutes. Add the bread crumbs, season with salt and toss to coat. Spread the bread crumbs on a baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes, until crisp and golden.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli rabe and boil until just tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool. Drain and pat thoroughly dry.
3. Heat a very large skillet over high heat for 2 minutes; or heat 2 large skillets. Add 1/3 cup of the olive oil to the skillet along with the garlic, shallots, chiles and the remaining 2 tsp. of thyme. Cook until the shallots are softened, about 2 minutes. Add the broccoli rabe and season with salt. Stir well to coat the broccoli rabe with the oil. Drizzle the remaining 1/3 cup of oil over the broccoli rabe and cook for 2 minutes, tossing often. Season with salt and pepper. Mound the broccoli rabe on a platter, scatter the mustard bread crumbs on top and serve hot or warm.
Recipe by Suzanne Goin, Food and Wine Magazine, December 2005.