Stir-Fried Rapini with Eggplant, Onions & Garlic

Shorshe Saak e Begun

Watching Italian chefs on TV prepare broccoli rabe or rapini with dried red peppers, onions and garlic made me very curious about this vegetable. I came across these greens in the vegetable section of the grocery store and they felt crisp and very fresh. The smell of the fresh greens reminded me of mustard greens, but the leaves and stalks of the latter are much longer and bigger. Rapini is a lot shorter and has small little clusters of broccoli nestled in the greens. The aroma of the dish as it was cooking was heavenly and it tasted even better.

Ingredients:

1 bunch broccoli rabe or rapini, chopped along with their stalks

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 dried red chilies, de-seeded and broken in 3-4 pieces

1 Oriental eggplant, cut in crescents 

1 large onion, sliced

5-6 cloves garlic, sliced

salt to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat, brown eggplant pieces and set aside.
2. In same skillet, add more oil if necessary and sputter dried chilies.
3. Add onions and garlic and stir-fry until onions are browned.
4. Add rapini and salt to taste.
5. Stir well, cover and cook over medium-low heat until greens are cooked.
6. Return eggplant pieces to skillet and stir to combine with greens.
7. Adjust salt to taste and remove from heat.
8. Transfer to serving dish and serve with steamed Basmati rice or Indian bread.