We’re still in spring!

This week I will purchase several bunches of ‘broccoli rabe’, which means I will also stop at my local pork store to purchase several pounds of Italian sausage.
Traditionally the two are served on a large platter with the broccoli rabe in the center and the fried sausage all around.
Long and behold I remembered that on a trip to Florence, Firenze to the Italians, I had a wonderful dish that was baked with lots of garlic and white kidney beans, “cannellini” as part of the dish. You see, in Florence they use quite a lot of ‘cannellini’, sometimes it becomes too much. I did find the recipe and I will cook it this weekend, delicious!

Broccolini di rape con salsiccia a forno

Broccoli rabe with Sausage in a Casserole

2 bunches broccolini di rape, ‘broccoli rabe’ as they are known here, cooked and well drained
2 pound fresh Italian sausage
1 can, Cannellini, white kidney beans
1 small onion, finely sliced
½ cup milk
½ cup grated Romano - cheese
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon pepper
¼ cup, homemade, bread crumbs
4 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
4 teaspoons butter, melted

Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees F

In a large skillet cook sausage over medium heat for about 8 to 10 minutes until the inside pink is gone, turn often. Place sausage on paper towels to drain. When the sausage has cooled, slice into bite size pieces.

Wash and clean and peel hard sections of the broccoli rabe. Place in a pot of salted boiling water and blanch for 5 minutes or so. Drain and leave in the colander to cool. When they have completely cooled, cut into 2 inch sections.

In a mixing bowl combine cooked sausage, broccoli rabe, beans, onion, milk and the ¼ cup of the cheese, lemon peel and pepper and mix well.

Transfer the mixture onto an olive oil greased baking dish.

In another mixing bowl; combine the bread crumbs, remaining ¼ cup of cheese along with the garlic and the melted butter; sprinkle on top of the casserole and bake, uncovered, for about 30 - 40 minutes or until the bread crumbs brown and the contents are nice and hot.

Serve with lots of crusty Italian bread.

Funny, we used to call this type of food, peasant food.
Today this dish comes under the classification of “gourmet dish”.
Yet, when it was peasant food, we survived many a day in the rough agrarian society we grew up in.