Olive Oil-Braised Chickpeas and Broccoli Rabe

By Ali Slagle

Olive Oil-Braised Chickpeas and Broccoli Rabe
Linda Xiao for The New York Times
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
4(912)
Comments
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Braising in a pool of olive oil can turn tough ingredients creamy and luxurious without any of your attention. Canned chickpeas turn buttery-soft, and broccoli rabe’s bitterness succumbs to an oil seasoned with garlic, rosemary, chile and fennel seeds. Speaking of that oil, it’s as much a reason to braise as the silky chickpeas and rabe themselves. Soak it all up with crusty bread, or ladle it over pasta, yogurt, feta or mozzarella. The underpinnings of this recipe — chickpeas, vegetables, olive oil and seasonings — also make it great to riff on. Consider simmering chickpeas and olive oil with carrots, harissa and black olives; cherry tomatoes, thyme and lemon slices; or potatoes, shallots and cumin seeds.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 6garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
  • 1rosemary sprig
  • 1teaspoon fennel seeds
  • ½teaspoon dried chile flakes
  • 1bunch broccoli rabe (about 1 pound), woody stems trimmed
  • 1(15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • Crusty bread, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

704 calories; 58 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 40 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 37 grams carbohydrates; 11 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 13 grams protein; 689 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat, combine the oil, garlic, rosemary, fennel seeds and chile flakes. Cook until the mixture is fragrant and the garlic is golden, 3 to 5 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Turn off the heat, then add the rabe and toss until coated in oil. Scatter the chickpeas around the rabe and stir to coat in oil. Season generously with salt and pepper.

  3. Step 3

    Cover with a lid or foil and bake for about 40 minutes, until the chickpeas are soft and crispy in parts and the broccoli rabe is tender, but the stems are not mushy.

  4. Step 4

    Let cool slightly. Before serving, remove the rosemary and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with crusty bread for mopping up the seasoned oil.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
912 user ratings
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Comments

Jeffsee

Nope - all the olive oil does nothing to enhance the ingredients. After making this I immediately went back to 2 tbls of oil for a fresher result.

Christa

This time I cracked/crushed the fennel in a mortar and pestle, as David Tanis suggests for his broccoli rabe in "One Good Dish." It may seem like a small, inconsequential step, but I think it's like smashing the garlic as opposed simply to throw in whole, peeled cloves: crushing/cracking the fennel released its aroma and flavor, and I found it more pleasant to eat than whole seeds, even though they're small. I add only 1/4 teaspoon of chile so as not to overwhelm the dish.

Emily Penfield

This is a very typical dish also from Puglia, where I currently reside. Here olive oil is a food, not a fat. Braising greens in it, drizzling on top of a dish of "beans and greens" (fav'e foglie, the PUGLIESE classic) is very much a part of the cuisine.... Here we serve it with wood oven baked bread, polenta is NOT part of the culinary culture. And it is a complete protein dish.

Melissa W

We’ve been making variations of this dish for many years after feasting on similar in Puglia. We very finely chop about triple the amount of rosemary to infuse the olive oil, double the garlic and fennel seeds, add chopped leeks, shallots or onions, and lemon zest at the very end. We also make it sometimes with cannellini beans, but add those toward the end as they are much softer. The herby olive oil, all of it, is wonderful to sop up with bread. Don’t skimp!

Madeline

Barely enough for 4 modest eaters as a main dish. Surprisingly, not too oily— just a couple of spoonfuls left in the pot— but the chickpeas didn’t go crispy at all. The broccoli rabe was damp when I put it in, and I drained but didn’t rinse the chick peas ( which I cooked from scratch) so perhaps too much moisture for crisping? I’ll try it again because the idea is great. The olive flavor goes great with the mellowed bitterness of the rabe.

Karen

Delicious with all the olive oil- added extra chickpeas; didn’t have rabe so used broccoli and dandelion greens which worked great..sopped up the juices with good crusty country bread

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