Cime di Rapa all'Aglio

Cime di rapa are not broccoli, though Americans insist on calling them broccoli rabe. They are the flowering tops of a turnip green, and they carry a bitterness that separates those who understand Italian vegetables from those who do not. The bitterness is intentional. It is desirable. It is what makes this vegetable worth cooking.

In Puglia, where this preparation originates, the greens are everywhere in winter markets: bundles of dark leaves with small florets and tender stems. The contadini cook them simply because simple cooking reveals their character. You blanch them first to soften the harshness, then turn them in a pan with olive oil, garlic, and peperoncino. That is all.

The garlic here is used correctly. You slice it thin, let it perfume the oil, and remove it before it can burn and turn bitter itself. This is the difference between Italian cooking and American interpretations of it. The garlic is a whisper, not a shout. What remains after you remove those slices is exactly what you need: the essence without the assault.