Recipe: Broccoli Raab Soup with Chickpeas and Pasta

BROCCOLI RAAB SOUP WITH CHICKPEAS AND PASTA
Source: Dana Jacobi for the American Institute for Cancer Research

1 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
3 large garlic cloves
1 1/2 bags pre-chopped, or 3/4 lb. broccoli raab (7 to 8 cups)
4 cups fat-free, reduced sodium-beef broth
4 oz. whole-wheat spaghetti
1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Hot sauce, to taste (optional)
1/4 cup (1/2 oz). low-sodium cheese, grated (ideally, pecorino cheese)

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Saute the garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the raab, stirring until it is wilted and dark green. Cook uncovered until the greens are almost soft, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the broth and 2 cups water. When the liquid boils, break the spaghetti into one-inch pieces and add it to the pot. Reduce the heat and simmer until the pasta is done, about 10 minutes.

Add the chickpeas. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper and hot sauce (if desired).

Divide the soup among 4 deep bowls. Drizzle one-fourth of the remaining oil into each bowl. Sprinkle a tablespoon of cheese over each and serve.

Makes 4 servings
Per serving: 308 calories, 8 g. total fat (1 g. saturated fat), 49 g. carbohydrate, 15 g. protein, 11 g. dietary fiber, 837 mg. sodium.

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BROCCOLI'S BOLDER BROTHER

Americans like vegetables with simple names. We also prefer them with a mild, friendly taste. Given this, it is amazing that broccoli raab (pronounced rob), also known as rapini, cima di rape and broccoletti, is popular enough to be found in most supermarkets despite its bitter, even aggressive flavor. Raab, another way of referring to it, is a brassica related to more gently-flavored broccoli. It even has little green florets resembling baby broccoli, sometimes dotted with yellow blossoms, peering from its broad, dark leaves, which are attached to firm, long stems.

Broccoli raab's flavor transports one instantly to Italy, where it originated. Italians, who love its peppery taste and understand this vegetable's affinity for other, equally pungent or spicy ingredients, often serve raab saut ed with lots of garlic and a sprinkling of red pepper flakes. If you prefer to tame its feistiness a bit, cut the stalks and leaves crosswise into one-inch pieces and blanch them for a minute in boiling water, then plunge them quickly cold water to set their vibrant color. Saut the drained broccoli raab with chopped onions, using oil and some chicken broth, until it is as tender as you like.

To Italians, broccoli raab is comfort food. They use this rustic vegetable in hearty dishes along with beans, grains and pasta. You will no doubt enjoy the local soup made with raab that is served at a popular restaurant and hotel in the mountains of Sicily where the owners, a mother and daughter, do the cooking.

Most of their soups include pasta which, in the recipe below, is broken up into small pieces before cooking. Try their special broccoli raab soup with an Italian cheese like pecorino grated on top, perhaps with a few drops of extra virgin olive oil drizzled over all, and a little hot sauce if you like.