right up there with my obsession with kale, is my love of rapini. i'm pretty sure my mother served it to me more than once growing up, but i was never able to get past the bitterness and appreciate its unique flavour. now i love the bitterness and flavour equally. when i first came around and started to buy it and cook it for myself, i took the standard route, sauteing it with garlic and chili before tossing it all with pasta. but lately i've started to experiment with it a bit more, cooking it as a side, which allows the rapini to be the lone star of its own dish, and allows me to enjoy big mouthfuls of it, uninterrupted by pasta or anything else.
and it was after ordering a side of rapini at a restaurant that i had the idea for this porcini-fried rapini. the rapini i ordered was sauteed in olive oil and dressed with buttery, golden parmesan breadcrumbs--rich, and sharp flavours that stood up to the strong taste of the rapini. i wanted to make something similar and i remembered my mother using porcini "powder" in a coating once...it struck me as an even better match for the rapini than the cheese. earthy and strong porcinis to balance the bite of the greens.
i was so happy with how this recipe turned out for dinner (it's so quick to make--definitely weeknight-worthy) that i decided to make it for a big dinner party. because it's the season for entertaining, i decided to include some tips on how to prepare this in advance and serve it hot to your hungry guests.
more on how it went over with my hungry guests this weekend in my next post!
porcini-fried rapini
1 bunch rapini, washed, stems trimmed, tough outer leaves and stems discarded
1/2 c panko breadcrumbs
10-12 g dried porcini mushrooms
1/4 cup flour
1 large egg
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1tbs butter (optional)
1/2 tsp salt (approx.)
1/4 tsp pepper (approx.)
blanch rapini in boiling, salted water for 2 minutes, then shock in ice-cold water. drain in colander, then squeeze out as much water as possible, gently but firmly, from rapini. lay rapini on clean towels and pat dry. allow to air dry. if making ahead, you can transfer the blanched and dried rapini to an air tight container and refrigerate for a day.
meanwhile, remove dirt and dust from porcini pieces and grind pieces to a powder in a spice grinder. in a large bowl, combine porcini powder and panko breadcrumbs, season with a pinch of salt and pepper. break egg into a separate large bowl, and whisk, season with salt and pepper. into a third large bowl, add the flour and season with salt and pepper.
add the rapini to the flour and dust lightly to ensure the rapini are dry, before moving rapini to the egg mixture. coat the surfaces of the rapini well in the egg wash and then transfer to the panko mixture. coat the rapini in the panko and porcini, pressing the coating onto the greens.
heat oil, and butter if using, in a wide skillet (non-stick is preferable), over medium-high heat. distribute the oil evenly in the skillet. when the oil is hot, lay the rapini in the skillet in a single layer. season with remaining salt (1/4 tsp) and pepper (1/8 tsp). do not crowd the skillet, fry in two batches if necessary. fry on one side until the crust turns golden brown (about 2-3 minutes). turn rapini over and fry on the other side until golden. serve hot. if making ahead, rapini can sit at room temperate for up to 4 hours. reheat in a 250 degree oven for 10-15 minutes (or at a higher heat for 5-10 minutes) and serve hot.
serves 4 as a side dish.
