Strike a Balance
Your first bite of broccoli rabe might catch you off guard. It’s one of the most bitter vegetables around, a characteristic some ­people love and others…not so much. With that in mind, in the following recipes we carefully balanced the bitter with sweet, salty and tangy flavors. Briny feta and tart lemon tame an orzo-broccoli rabe salad. Sweet balsamic vinegar and sun-dried tomatoes bring it down to earth.

What You Get
Like all cruciferous vegetables, broccoli rabe is rich in isothiocyanates, compounds that amp up the body’s natural detoxifying enzymes. Plus 1 cup provides more than 100% of the daily value of vitamin K, which some ­research shows may help build and maintain strong bones.

Tame the Bitter
Briefly cooking broccoli rabe in boiling water (blanching) helps remove some of its bitterness, making it more palatable to those who prefer a milder green. To blanch broccoli rabe: Cook in a large pot of boiling water until bright green and barely tender, 1 to 2 minutes.