Bryanna Clark Grogan’s Vegan Feast Kitchen/ 23rd Century Table

Even though I am part Italian, I only discovered rapini a decade or so ago. Being partial to "bitter greens" (which include arugula, radicchio, mustard and turnip greens, sorrel, young dandelion greens and curly endive), I was attracted by this "new" vegetable when I first saw it in a grocery store. Rapini, which is also called 'broccoli raab" or simply "rabe”, only slightly resembles broccoli. It has tiny bunches of broccoli-like blossoms on long stems in the midst of large spiky leaves.


Unlike common broccoli, which is from the cabbage family, rapini is related to turnip, but it grows in the same way as broccoli, except that it's ready to harvest earlier and can be grown all year round in temperate climates. The flavor is pungent, with a slightly spicy bite, which makes it a great foil for bland ingredients, such as white kidney beans, pasta, rice, polenta (Italian cornmeal) and potatoes. It can take seasonings that have big flavors, such as garlic, spicy vegan sausages and hot peppers. Try using it in lasagne, stuffed savory crepes, ravioli filling, stuffed pasta shells, quiches and soups. I love it so much that I actually crave it sometimes!

Italian cookbooks as far back as the 14th century included rapini recipes. The classic Italian preparation is to braise it in olive oil and flavor it with garlic, anchovies (I use miso instead!) and bread crumbs; or simply sautéed in olive oil with garlic, salt and pepper. The blossoms, leaves and stalks are equally edible and flavorful. Rapini is one of the easiest vegetables to prepare. The stalks tend to grow to an equal thickness, making even cooking a snap.

In supermarkets, rapini comes in bunches of 1 to 1 1/4 pounds. Look for slender, crisp stalks, bright color, fresh-looking leaves and relatively few opened buds. Plan on 3 to 4 servings from each bunch or 2 servings per bunch if you plan to use it as part of a main dish-- with pasta, for example. Store it in zipper-lock bags in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator for up to a week. Because it is usually eaten cooked, you can also blanch it for 2 minutes in boiling water, "shock" it in ice cold water, drain it and freeze it in this semi-cooked state for future use in recipes.

Before cooking, rinse the greens well in plenty of cold water. Trim only the end of the stems and discard them (there is very little waste with rapini!). Cut the rest of the stems, leaves and tops crosswise into 1 to 2-inch lengths. Some cooks like to blanch the rapini before cooking (see paragraph above), to reduce its bitterness, but I don't bother with that unless I want to use the plain, cooked rapini in a recipe. I like that slightly bitter edge!

Rapini is a also nutrition powerhouse, by the way. It is low in calories (only 25 in a cup!) and sodium and has no fat or cholesterol. What it does have is plenty of vitamin A (110% of the Recommended Daily Value), vitamin C (130% of the RDV) and vitamin K, as well as potassium and folic acid. Potassium, along with folic acid, fiber and the bioflavonoids found in the cruciferous vegetables may help prevent the risk of stroke. Rapini also provides iron and calcium and like other cruciferous vegetables, contains nutrients, compounds and antioxidants that appear to have cancer-fighting benefits.

Fortunately, there are many delicious ways to enjoy rapini, and there are several other recipes on this blog:

Mediterranean-Style Bean Stew with Rapini & Vegan Sausage

Italian-Style Cannellini (White Kidney Beans) with Rapini (Broccoli Rabe)

Farfalle (bowtie) Pasta & Rapini with Italian Walnut Sauce

Tagliatelle with Rapini, Onion, Chickpeas & Creamy White Bean Flour-Based Vegan Bechamel

Tortino di Patate (Layered Potato Casserole with rapini, onions, vegan Italian sausage,and vegan cheese.)

The following recipe (from my book "World Vegan Feast") is one of those simple Italian-style stick-to your-ribs stews-- delicious with a green salad and crusty bread to soak up the juices.  



Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S LENTIL AND RAPINI STEW WITH SPICY VEGAN SAUSAGE
(From my book “World Vegan Feast”, Vegan Heritage Press)
Serves 6

1/2 pound (1 cup + 2 tablespoons) dried brown lentils, picked over, rinsed and drained
2 cups canned tomatoes and juice, chopped
2 cups tasty vegan broth 
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 spicy vegan sausages, such as Tofurkey Italian "Sausages" or Field Roast Chipotle "Sausages", sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 to 1 1/4 pounds (1 bunch) rapini (broccoli raab-- see above), tough stems removed, washed, trimmed and sliced into 1-inch lengths 
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or marjoram (or 1 1/2 teaspoons, dried) 
1/2 cup vegan parmesan substitute (such as Go Veggie! or Follow Your Heart [EarthIsland in Canada])

Mix the drained lentils, tomatoes (with juice) and broth in a medium pot. (If you are using dried herbs, add them now). Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 30 to 40 minutes.

While the lentils are simmering, heat the olive oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté them until translucent but not browned. Add the garlic and onions to the lentils.

Brown the sliced sausage slices in the same skillet sprayed with oil from a pump sprayer. Add the sausage to the lentils. Add the sliced rapini and the fresh herbs (if you have not added the dried ones already) to the lentils and cook an additional 5to 7 minutes or until the rapini has wilted.

Serve the stew hot in shallow soup bowls, topped with the vegan parmesan. 

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per serving): 342 calories, 66 calories from fat, 7.5g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 568.6mg sodium, 748.1mg potassium, 40.3g carbohydrates, 17.8g fiber, 7.4g sugar, 26.9g protein, 9.3 points.

Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S VEGAN LENTIL AND MUSHROOM  QUICHE (can be soy-free, gluten-free,
corn-free-- see Cooking Tips below recipe)
Serves 6
This creamy quiche is an unusual way to introduce a few more legumes (in both the filling and the crust) into your menus. By the way, this quiche, because it contains no eggs, needs to be eaten cold or at room temperature after it has set sufficiently to cut easily. So, it's a great make-ahead lunch or supper dish, and also a good potluck or picnic entrée.

LEGUME-ENHANCED CRUST 
1/2 cup wholewheat pastry flour
1/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 cup chickpea flour or soy flour
3/8 tsp salt
3/8 tsp baking powder
3/8 tsp sugar
3 Tbs oil
3 Tbs soymilk or nut milk
1/2 tsp lemon juice
FILLING
1 cup cooked or canned, drained brown lentils
1 Tbs olive oil or vegan butter
1 medium onion, thinly-sliced
6 oz sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
Creamy Mixture:
(To make soy-free, omit tofu and use 3 Tbs raw cashew pieces and 2 1/2 Tbs more non-dairy milk)
1 1/2 cups soymilk or other non-dairy milk
1/3 cup extra-firm SILKEN tofu or medium-firm regular tofu, crumbled
1/4 cup vegan parmesan substitute (I like Go Veggie! Vegan)
1 chicken-style vegetarian bouillon cube, or enough powder for 1 cup liquid
2 Tbs cornstarch or wheat starch, OR plain custard powder, such as Bird’s
1 pinch Spanish saffron OR 1/8 tsp. turmeric (you won't need this if you use custard powder)
1/2 tsp agar powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 pinch grated nutmeg
freshly-grated black pepper to taste

Making the crust:
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk the soy milk with the lemon juice, and then with the oil. Quickly stir the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and mix briefly, forming the pastry into a ball. If it's too dry, add cold water just a few drops at a time until it holds together. Don't over mix or the pastry will be tough.

If made ahead of time, place dough in a plastic bag and refrigerate it until you're ready to roll it out (several hours or even several days).

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Roll out the dough to fit a 9" or 10" tart or pie pan. (If using a pie pan, just bring the pastry up to the inside top of the pan and flute it, to make a shallow shell-- not over the edge, like an American pie.)


Trim the top edge neatly. Place a square of cooking parchment over the dough and weight down with 1/2 cup of dried beans, spread out evenly. Bake 10 minutes. Remove beans and paper. Cool the pastry on a rack.

For the Filling:
Heat the oil or vegan butter in a large non-stick skillet and heat over medium-high. Sauté the onions until they start to go limp, then add the garlic and mushrooms. Keep stir-frying until the mushrooms are golden. Add the lentils and thyme and stir gently. Set aside.


Blend the Creamy Mixture ingredients until smooth in a blender. Spread the mushroom/lentil mixture evenly over the prepared pie crust and pour the Creamy Mixture over it evenly. Place the quiche in the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 400° F.


Bake 35 minutes. Cool on a rack for about 30 minutes, then place in the refrigerator to firm up.

The quiche needs to be chilled for about 4 hours to be firm, and will keep well, refrigerated, for a few days. You could also make mini-quiches with this filling mixture.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 263.7 calories; 34% calories from fat; 10.2g total fat; 0.0mg
cholesterol; 345.3mg sodium; 467.9mg potassium; 31.3g carbohydrates; 5.4g fiber; 4.6g
sugar; 11.1g protein.


Cooking Tips
FOR GLUTEN-FREE AND/OR CORN-FREE VERSION:
If you can't have corn or wheat, omit the cornstarch, wheat starch, or custard powder from the Filling and, instead, use 2 1/4 Tbs. white rice flour (along with the agar), and use your favorite wheat-free pastry recipe.

Or, here are two simple non-pastry Gluten-free and Corn-free quiche crust recipes from my book "Soyfoods Cooking for a Positive Menopause":
RICE CRUST
Combine:
1 1/2 cups cooked (salted) brown rice (short grain sticks together best)
1/2 Tbs EnerG egg replacer beaten with 2 Tbs water (or try using 3 Tbs aquafaba/chickpea cooking liquid)
1/4 cup vegan  Parmesan substitute (I like Go Veggie! vegan)
2 Tbs minced onion
1/4 tsp. dried basil or other herb of choice
 Press into bottom and sides of a greased 9" or 10" pie pan. Fill and bake as
directed.

POTATO CRUST
Combine:
3 cups grated raw potatoes
1 Tbs nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 Tbs EnerG egg replacer beaten with 2 Tbs water (or try using 3 Tbs aquafaba/chickpea cooking liquid)
1/4 tsp. salt
Press into greased 9"or 10" pie pan. Bake 15 minutes at 450 degrees F, then fill and bake
as directed.

Enjoy!

I haven't been blogging for weeks now!  Between the holiday, granddchildren visiting, and getting over a cough that just doesn't want to quit, time has gotten away from me!

Today I made this soup for our lunch.  I've been making it since the 1970's, but have never posted it, for some reason. Took it for granted, I guess. It's a soup version of Francis Moore Lappe's recipe for Lentils, Monastery Style in her ground-breaking book "Diet for a Small Planet", which was very influential in starting me on the road to vegetarianism. I have made a few changes over the years-- this is the latest version and I thought I'd share it with you. This soup was perfect for this chilly April day with some home-baked bread.

Printable Recipe

Just in case you missed it, I had the honor of being the first interview in Betsy Di Julio's inaugural monthly "Vegan Q&A Tuesday" on her blog, The Blooming Platter.  (More about that feature here.)

"Based on Actor’s Studio host’s James Lipton’s famous “Q & A”–after the Proust Questionnaire–“Vegan Q & A Tuesday” is The Blooming Platter’s new first Tuesday feature on a creative force in the vegan culinary world."

It's a brilliant idea (and challenging for the interviewee), and I can't wait to read the next one!

You can read the interview, and my recipe for a delicious Indian-Spiced Lentil Salad on Betsy's blog here: http://www.thebloomingplatter.com/vegan-farmers-market/inaugural-blooming-platter-vegan-q-a-tuesday-with-bryanna-clark-grogan-bryannas-indian-spiced-lentil-salad

Enjoy!