Rabe and Chick Peas!

I am on a broccoli rabe kick this week and I decided to make mine into a main dish with the splendid addition of chick peas. Seriously, I add chick peas to my dishes like other people add salt to theirs.

I started out by blanching the rabe, which consisted of dunking the rabe into boiling water for 30- 60 seconds and then immersing it in ice cold water for another 30 seconds. Set the rabe aside. Blanching helps the rabe to maintain its vibrant green color. In a large frying pan lightly covered in EVOO, I sauteed garlic, onions, red pepper flakes, and kalamata olives. Once the garlic and onion were well cooked, I added in the rabe and tossed it lightly. The final addition was, of course, a can of chick peas that had been drained and rinsed. Cannellini beans work as well! Salt and pepper as desired.

Can be eaten alone or on a hot steamy bed of brown rice.