It’s so versatile, served often with greens, pasta, potatoes, or salads. The leftovers can be added to soups and frittatas.

We especially like oven-baked Italian sausage with broccoli rabe

I have a full tutorial here on how to prepare broccoli rabe.

1. It’s important to trim the stems, submerge in boiling water for about 4-5 minutes.
2. Drain and shock with ice bath to keep vibrant green color.
3. Sautè garlic in olive oil. Add chopped and drained broccoli rabe.
4. Red chili flakes and pecorino cheese are the perfect additions.

Sausage and broccoli rabe are often served with a pasta called orecchiette. This is my husband’s favorite dish.

Recipe here.

My personal favorite Italian sausage is from Whole Foods as they make it on premises, and we don’t have Italian markets here. This makes for a wonderful easy dinner full of savory flavors.

Oven Baked Italian Sausage Makes Cooking Easy

You can cook Italian sausage a few different ways, (on the grill, in a frying pan), but I like to just fork it allow steam to escape and place it in the oven. So easy! While the sausage is cooking for about twenty minutes, you can make the broccoli rabe.

Oven Baked Italian Sausage with Broccoli Rabe is an Easy Simple Feast

Such a simple meal feels like a feast. I can’t stress enough that broccoli rabe is not broccoli and does not taste like broccoli. It has a more distinct bitter taste that goes amazingly well with Italian sausage. Keep in mind that some foods are best as part of an orchestra. You may not like the solo, but the combination of the sausage and salty cheese makes for a perfect bite.

Pecorino Romano is our favorite cheese for broccoli rabe as it’s nutty, salty, and balances the bitterness. I like to shave it over the broccoli rabe while it’s still hot in the pan and have it melt a little.

The reason broccoli rabe loves Italian sausage is that it needs salt. Broccoli rabe is in the mustard family and the bitterness will be offset by salt, salty cheese and salty sausage, along with the red chili flakes.

You can change this recipe a bit by serving the broccoli rabe and sausage with your favorite starch, pasta, rice, or crusty bread. You could also be inspired to serve broccoli rabe with meatballs (no sauce). You could add broccoli rabe and sliced sausage to this summer spaghetti.

Recipes like these are meant to be an idea, an inspiration to make food to your own tastes.

If you don’t want broccoli rabe, Oven Baked Italian Sausage goes wonderfully with kale. These are a few of my favorites.

Apple Kale Salad

Melted Tuscan Kale

Tuscan Kale Salad

More recipes with Italian Sausage from Spinach Tiger

Italian Sausage Soup

Spaghetti Squash with Italian Sausage

Italian Sausage Ricotta Frittata

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Broccoli Rabe with Italian Sausage

Oven baked Italian sausage with broccoli rabe.

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 4 sausage Italian Sausage
• 1 to 2 bunches of broccoli rabe see notes
• 2 to 4 cloves of garlic sliced thinly
• olive oil for sautéing
• sea salt for seasoning
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup grated or shaved pecorino romano cheese

Instructions

• Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Fork the sausage a few places so steam escapes in oven.
• Place in oven proof baking dish or cast iron pan.
• Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes.
• In meantime, trim broccoli rabe stems.
• Blanch in boiling water for five minutes. Drain and place in ice bath for few minutes to cool and maintain color.
• Drain again, chop. Set aside.
• Heat frying pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
• Sautè garlic in oil until near golden. DO NOT BURN.
• Add in broccoili rabe. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cook for just a few minutes to saturate the flavors.
• Top with Pecorino Romano and crushed red pepper flakes.
• Serve with sausage.

Notes

Broccoli rabe reduces quite a bit.
One bunch will feed two people.




The post Baked Italian Sausage Recipe with Broccoli Rabe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Keto Shrimp Scampi with Pork Panko Breadcrumbs with lemony butter sauce is no compromise.

I avoided shrimp scampi for  years because I thought you could only enjoy it with a lot of crusty bread. While that’s one wonderful way to sop up the lemony butter sauce, eating scampi blanketed with crispy pork panko (a no-carb breadcrumb) is a culinary pleasure.

I’m Italian, but oddly enough never ate shrimp scampi. We were much more likely to see shrimp in a tomato sauce. Seafood was a big thing in the town I grew up in and there wasn’t a week that went by that we weren’t eating blue crab, shrimp or Dover sole.

My mom, Retro Rose, does not like garlic, which is funny because she is  a full fledged Italian, and half Sicilian, but the smell of garlic drives her far away.

Marcella Hazan talks a lot about the over-use of garlic in Italian food. She goes so far as to say if you walk into a restaurant and smell garlic, you should leave. Garlic is meant to be subtle for most Italian dishes and it should always be freshly peeled.

This Keto shrimp scampi might be the one dish where garlic is a very important component. Still there a few things you should know if you want this dish to have the right balance.

How do you peel garlic?

You want to use fresh garlic you peel yourself. I know that you can buy peeled garlic in jars, but that poses a risk of rancid or bitter garlic.  Pre-peeled garlic has a very short shelf life. My very first video on youtube was showing people how to peel garlic, easily. You have to watch it. It’s hilarious, but it will change your garlic life.

You simply take two stainless bowls, one on top of the other with garlic inside and shake for about twenty seconds. The friction causes the peels to fall off. It’s like magic.

How to Use Pork Panko

I’ve been talking about pork panko for several months now, because it’s the perfect keto friendly panko. I’m not sure how they do it, but it tastes exactly like panko breadcrumbs. I like to toast the pork panko in a little butter when I’m topping a dish like Keto Shrimp Scampi.

Shrimp Scampi with Pork Panko Toasted in Garlic Butter

My favorite way to use them is to toast them in garlic butter and that works smashingly in this recipe. Add in lemon zest and parsley and toss over shrimp. Amazing.

Unless you live in shrimp territory, use flash frozen shrimp for absolute freshness. Peel, and devein.

What do you serve with shrimp scampi?

Well if you’re eating a low carb diet, you could serve this over spaghetti squash, or you can serve it over zoodles

Shrimp with Olives over Zoodles

Shrimp over Spaghetti Squash

Find over 75 recipes at my post featuring 30 low carb vegetables here. 

More Shrimp Recipes from Spinach Tiger

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Keto Shrimp Scampi with Pork Panko, Lemon, Almonds

Shrimp Scampi with butter, garlic and pork panko. Can be used an appetizer or an entree over pasta or vegetables.

Course Seasfood

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 cup pork panko ORDER HERE
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds optional
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic grated or minced
• 4 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley divided
• 1/4 cup white wine optional.
• 1 raw pound shrimp peeled deveined
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• zest of lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

• Put 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in frying pan. Add 1 clove garlic minced for a minute.
• Add pork panko and toast until crunchy. Add zest of lemon.
• Add 2 tablespoons parsley to pork panko. Set aside.
• In a clean pan, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter.
• Add remaining minced garlic. Sautè for one minute or until golden.
• Add lemon juice, optional white wine, black pepper, crushed red pepper.
• Cook wine down for two minutes.
• Add shrimp. Do not overcook.
• Cook for two minutes. Turn over and turn off heat leaving shrimp in pan, remaining to be cooked.
• Remove shrimp to a dish.
• Top with pork panko, enough to cover all the shrimp.
• Sprinkle with another dash crushed red pepper.
• Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 3g | Fiber: 1g

The post Keto Shrimp Scampi with Pork Panko, Lemon, Almonds appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Let me tell you how to cook the best broccoli rabe. It’s an Italian favorite and one I did not grow up on. It came as a surprise to me that I would embrace broccoli rabe, as it is not broccoli, does not taste like broccoli, and takes a paradigm tasting shift to appreciate it. It’s in the mustard green family and  has that bitter (but not unpleasant) taste that marries perfectly with garlic, olive oil and a bit of salt and crushed red pepper.

Once you understand that broccoli rabe is supposed to bitter and needs certain ingredients to make it shine, you will love it.

We love it on pizza. I made this sheet pan pizza. 

We love it on this pasta dish. Broccoli rabe is most often eaten with orecchieti and a good serving of pecorino romano.

Love it in a sandwich.

Love this broccoli rabe recipe all by itself.

This broccoli rabe recipe is perfectly balanced and has that umami component that makes you want more.

Just for fun, I once paired broccoli rabe with homemade chocolate pasta because I wanted to try something unique.

Broccoli Rabe Recipe Process

Buy broccoli rabe fresh. There should be no yellowing flowers.

Trim stems, submerge in boiling water for a few minutes, and then shock in ice bath to maintain that beautiful green color. At this point, you can refrigerate until you’re ready to sauté for later, or drain well and sauté in garlic and olive oil.

If you make this broccoli rabe recipe, please hashtag #spinachtiger. I would love to see what you do on Instagram. And, please let me know how you make it.

All my favorite things I actually own and use are at my Amazon Shop (Affilate) where I earn a small commission, and are divided by categories.

More Broccoli Rabe Recipes

More Vegetable Recipes

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How to Cook the Best Broccoli Rabe Recipe

Broccoli Rabe, an Italian Green Vegetable with olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, great on pasta, pizza in sandwiches or a great side dish.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of broccoli rabe
• 2 cups ice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• salt
• pepper

Instructions

• Wash, rinse, trim about 2 inches of stems.
• Submerge in boiling water for 4-5 minutes until soft.
• Drain, put in ice bath to maintain bright green color.
• Cool, drain, pat dry with paper towels.
• Chop into one inch or less pieces.
• Saute garlic just until softened.
• Add in broccoli rabe.
• Saute for 2 minutes.
• Add red pepper flakes.
• Season with salt and pepper.

This site contains affiliate links which earn a small commission. Read more on this disclosure.

The post How to Cook the Best Broccoli Rabe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

This roasted red pepper soup recipe almost didn’t happen.

But sometimes, the heavens line up,  and what was going to be a lunch of leftovers suddenly becomes a worthy recipe.

After making sausage and peppers for a party, most of the peppers and onions were left over, and just as I was ready to pitch them, my Vitamix took hold, and a roasted red pepper soup recipe was born.

It’s been soup time around here, and so don’t miss the ones featured below, and wait till you see the cauliflower kale sausage soup that’s coming. I can’t get enough soup of all kinds, but the pureed ones are just so satisfying and usually super health and body loving.

The Health of It – Red Bell Peppers and Onions are High on the Must Eat List

This roasted red pepper soup recipe will fill you up and give you a big punch of healthy.

Red peppers deliver a large amount of Vitamin C, contain antioxidants, are high in Vitamin A, Vitamin B 6 and magnesium. Red bell peppers contain lycopene a cancer fighter, especially for the lungs and prostrate.

There is more good news. Red Bell Pepper is not a a hot pepper, but still stimulates the metabolism, creating a thermogenic effect, without the burn, stimulating weight loss.

Onions are a main staple of Italian food (actually more so than garlic), but I’ve always taken them for granted, never thinking about their nutrition value, only thinking about flavor. Onions are an excellent source of vitamin C, sulphuric compounds, phytochemicals and a flavonoid called quercetin. Onions contai  chromium, which assists in regulating blood sugar and onions help reduce inflammation. Maybe this is why Marcella Hazan put onions as a main ingredient in her famous tomato sauce. 

The Good Taste of Roasted Red Pepper Soup Recipe

This roasted red pepper soup has consistency of a creamy soup and yet there is no cream or cream substitute of any kind. I used just two ingredients, roasted red peppers and onions. You certainly could whisk in some cream or sour cream, but I didn’t find that necessary. I always find it remarkable how creamy roasted vegetables get all on their own when you have a super blender.

The Secret Ingredient

The secret ingredient is fennel (from the sausage flavor). But you can just as easily roast the peppers and onions with olive oil and some fennel seed, and if you dare, just roast a bulb of fennel along with the peppers.

This roasted red pepper soup recipe is minimalist, just peppers, onions and a little bit of olive oil, making this a perfectly healthy, warming wintery soup. It all simply goes into the Vitamix (or similar type super blender) and in a few minutes, you have soup. I had used a variety of bell peppers including an orange, a yellow and two red. Never ever use green; they are too harsh for this recipe.  Do feel free to add in some heat. I used red chile flakes, but sriracha would work too.

So tell me, do you make soups in your Vitamix or super blender? Share with me in the comments. I’m always interested in hearing from you.

Connect with me on instagram where I often sneak preview pictures of my next recipe.

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Roasted Red Pepper Soup Recipe

Dairy Free, Vegan, Paleo Friendly Wintery warm roasted red pepper soup.

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 3 large red bell peppers
• 1 large sweet onion
• 1 fennel bulb optional or
• 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• red chile flakes

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Slice peppers into strips, remove all seeds
• Slice onions.
• Slice fennel bulb (if using).
• Layer peppers and onions on a baking sheet with just enough olive oil to glisten.
• Roast until peppers are soft about 30-40 minutes. Turn halfway through.
• Blend in Vitamix adding salt and pepper to taste.
• Garnish with red chile flakes.

More Healthy Soups from Spinach Tiger

Carrot Ginger Soup for a Healthy Heart

Cold Fighting Beef Soup with Einkorn Wheat Berries

30- Minute Green Health Soup

Healthy Mexican Chicken Rice Soup

Borscht, The Elixer of Soups

Fresh Tomato Basil Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup

The post Roasted Red Pepper Soup Recipe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

How do two food bloggers who are in command of their own kitchens successfully collaborate?

Last weekend I found myself in a beautiful Hollywood Hills home, nesting, shopping, and cooking with one of my favorite food bloggers in the whole world, Greg of Sippity Sup or just Sup.

Sup describes his blog as serious, fun food. I never miss a Sippity Sup post because there is always something good to eat, something to learn about the ingredients, beautiful photography, and best of all his pithy sense of humor shining through.

Everyone needs a colleague that makes them stretch. Sup does this for me. When I’m posting, he’s one of the bloggers I want feedback from, and when we get together, we spend time talking about our blogs like they are our babies.

Our friendship took root in San Francisco at the Food Buzz Festival, but could we click in the kitchen? Well yes, when it’s in a house this pretty. And you should see the kitchen. It’s a wonder we could cook at all and not just relax in this beautiful outdoor pool area.

The salad was our contribution to a neighborhood dinner party, one I wish I could tell you more about, but what happens in Hollywood stays in Hollywood. We decided to both post this same dish today from our individual vantage point.

Pasta salad can be boring, but not when Spinach Tiger and Sippity Sup get together.

As we were standing in this Armenian market admiring the various choices of feta cheese, we both became smitten with a bouquet of bright green dandelion greens. I don’t know the name of the store, but Sup probably can help you with that.

When I lived in California, I took for granted all the various markets and food sources available. Now I pine for them.

In food blogger fashion, neither one of us had cooked with dandelion greens and it excited us.

It’s appearance is similar to arugula, but, the way to tell the difference is the deep tooth of the leaf. This is how dandelion was named. Dent de lion means lion’s tooth, and thus, dandelion. It’s super nutritious, and has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries. It is complimented well with a briney feta.

Not all feta cheeses are created equally. This one was very creamy and had a smooth luxurious taste and texture.

If you taste dandelion on its own, it might seem harshly bitter, but once dressed and spiked with a bit of heat, the bitterness seems to disappear, but stays alive enough to awaken your palate. And, dandelion doesn’t wilt very much. When dressed with olive oil and lots of lemon, even on its own, dandelion transforms from bitter to delicious.

Note: I made a Dandelion Salad with Blood Orange in honor of the Hunger Games Trilogy.

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Dandelion Pasta Salad and How Food Bloggers Successfully Collaborate

Dandelions are more than weeds. They make an excellent backdrop for a pasta salad with fresh feta cheese.

Servings 8

Ingredients

• 1 pound pasta
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil more as needed
• 1/2 pound feta cheese
• 1 bunch dandelion trimmed
• 1/2 t red pepper  flakes or dried thai chiles
• 1 cup of kalamata olives pitted and halved
• juice and zest of one large lemon
• salt pepper
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add a generous amount of salt. Cook the pasta until al dente according to package directions.
• Whisk the olive oil lemon juice, lemon zest, red-pepper flakes with a pinch of salt in large bowl. Drain the pasta and add it to this mixture, stirring to coat the pasta well. Taste for seasoning. Set aside.
• Trim dandelion stems. Rinse and dry. Cut in half. Lay the dandelion greens out onto a large serving platter or bowl. Top them with the still slightly warm pasta and stir to combine. Let the salad cool completely then top with the the olives, feta cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, and a few grinds of black pepper.
• Serve at room temperature. If you refrigerate take out an hour before serving.

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add a generous amount of salt. Cook the pasta until al dente according to package directions.
• Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, red-pepper flakes with a pinch of salt in large bowl. Drain the pasta and add it to this mixture, stirring to coat the pasta well. Taste for seasoning. Set aside.
• Trim dandelion stems. Rinse and dry. Cut in half. Lay the dandelion greens out onto a large serving platter or bowl. Top them with the still slightly warm pasta and stir to combine. Let the salad cool completely, then top with the the olives, feta cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, and a few grinds of black pepper.
• Serve at room temperature. If you refrigerate, take out an hour before serving.

The post Dandelion Pasta Salad and How Food Bloggers Successfully Collaborate appeared first on Spinach Tiger.