Meatless Monday with Mama’s Pasta Alla Rapini

This is an incredible ecofriendly organic rustic Italian dish perfect for Meatless Monday. This is a great item to serve company as it is easy to make, delicious and it is guaranteed to impress. This dish is truly exceptional and would work as a pasta course for a more formal meal or to simply have as meal on its own. The recipe is even better when combined with an organic spelt pasta. If you can make your own spelt pasta (I’ll share my recipe another time), this will bring the dish to an entirely other level although it works fine with store-bought pasta – plain semolina, whole wheat or (ideally) spelt. Now on to the recipe:

Portion: serves 4

Ingredients:

• Two heads of rapini
• ¼ cup olive oil (is preferable but use what you like)
• 2 tbsp butter
• Eight-ten cloves of garlic
• 1½ cup Vegetarian stock (Chicken flavored)
• 500g Long pasta (store-bought or homemade)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:
To prep rapini

• Cut leaves off of the rapini stock, compost all stems
• Cut the leaves into small ribbons, chiffonade style
• Soak rapini in salted water until clean
• Boil rapini until fork tender, be sure not to overcook (retaining green colour)
• Drain and set aside

1. In a large skillet melt 2 tbs of butter and add ¼ cup of olive oil on medium-low heat.
2. Immediately add all garlic cloves, do not let them brown but allow to macerate in the oil for 10 minutes
3. Pour in 1 ½ cup of stock, and allow to heat though
4. Add rapini to the sauce pan and mix thoroughly
5. Put on low and allow mixture to meld, stirring occasionally
6. Meanwhile cook your favorite long pasta (preferably something thin)
7. Set aside one cup of starchy pasta water, incase your sauce needs to be thinned out
8. Once pasta is cooked and drained put it back in the pot, and add the rapini mixture.
9. Serve immediately and top with grated parmesan cheese if desired.

Tip:
You know you can clean and par cook your rapini before hand so it’s ready to go when you are.  Note this does not take long, but it would speed up the process if you wanted to make this for dinner on a Monday after work.

To join the Meatless Monday movement you can read more at meatlessmonday.com. I hope you enjoy this fresh take on simple eco-vegetarian rustic Italian fare. With this in your repertoire, a fast meatless dinner that will dazzle is never out or reach regardless of your culinary proficiency. Buon Appetito!