Baked Broccoli Rabe With Parmesan

Broccoli rabe usually doesn’t make it past a sauté pan with garlic and olive oil, nor does it need to. But the extra step of baking it in the oven with a shower of grated Parmesan on top — a suggestion from the chef John Schenk that was written up in a 1997 Minimalist column — is one to try. Blanch the broccoli rabe until it’s bright green and nearly tender, then cook it in a pan with golden toasted garlic. From there, put it in a baking dish, sprinkle with cheese, and bake until it the cheese melts, which Parmesan does unevenly — but in a good way. This is a recipe that can easily be started, stopped and picked back up later, either after the blanching or after the sautéing. It can also be served at room temperature, so despite the three-step cooking process, it’s pretty flexible.