Rapini & Goat Cheese Crostini

Every Sunday Grandpa Tony comes for dinner and brings rapini for Rick. Rick first fell in love with rapini when he visited Italy as a young boy and one of his Aunts would make him rapini sandwiches as a snack. It is an acquired taste and it has taken me the better part of 20 years to get with the program. I do now quite enjoy the flavour which has a slight bitter edge to it. It is easy to make a big batch of rapini as it keeps well in the fridge.

In an attempt to spice it up a bit I created this recipe for lunch. I will test in on Rick tonight to see how he likes it.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of rapini
2 T olive oil
2 cloves of garlic minced
salt & pepper

2 slices of crusty Italian style bread
2 T goat cheese
1 T toasted pine nuts
pinch of chili flakes (optional)

Cut them stems off the bunch of rapini. Place in a large pot with a small amount of water and bring to a boil. It will wilt down significantly. Allow it to boil for approx 10 minutes. Drain it and squeeze out the majority of the water. In a saute pan on medium heat add the oil and then the boiled rapini. Saute for 10 minutes. add the garlic, salt & pepper and saute for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

To prepare the crostini put the 2 slices of bread on a cookie sheet and drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle of salt. Place in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes to toast them. Let them cool slightly and then spread a tablespoon of goat cheese on each slice. Sprinkle on the pine nuts and the chili flakes evenly and then top each slice with rapini. Season with salt & pepper.

Note: Rapini is also known as broccoli Rabe