Roast Chicken with Parmesan Garlic Rapini

I figure you can't really go wrong with parmesan and garlic. I'm not terribly comfortable with cooking rapini (broccoli raab), I've only done it once or twice in my life, but this looked simple enough. It was and it was suuuuuper tasty. The cheesey garlicky flavor mixed with that slightly spicy quality that rapini has was really good. Chris always looks a little nervous when there are veggies that he's never seen before but he really liked this. Although sometimes I think I could sautee a paper bag and as long as it had garlic on it he probably wouldn't complain too much. :P

My roast chicken is my Mom's recipe and it turns out pretty awesome every time. I'll include the recipe just in case anybody wants it.

Bottom Line: Rapini gets a solid 4 stars, good but not life changing.



Rapini w/ Garlic and Parmesan
2 lbs broccoli (rabe)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
6 tablespoons freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese
Pinch of red pepper flakes

1. Cook broccoli rabe in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain and transfer to bowl of ice water to cool. Drain again; pat dry. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in paper towels. Enclose in plastic bag and chill.)
2. Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add broccoli rabe and sauté until heated through, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons cheese over and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to warm platter. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons cheese over.

 Garlic Roast Chicken

1. Cover outside of chicken with granulated garlic (NOT GARLIC SALT/POWDER!!!), salt and pepper. 
2. Cut off little fat patch thingee by the cavity and cut it in half. Put one half on top of the breast bone. Cut the remaining half again and put one piece on each drumstick.  
3. Peel 8-12 cloves of garlic and stuff into the chicken's cavity. 
4. You can tie up the legs or not, it's up to you.
5. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. 
6. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the weight of the chicken. Let sit for 10 minutes or so.