i’ve been seeing the rapini in the farmer’s market lately and wanted to get my hands on some to work with it more, but then i saw this nice table of mixed young green and purple broccoli sprouts and and had to have it for the color alone. this isn’t actually rapini, but purple sprouting broccoli, which is a variety of broccoli that comes in with purple buds and lots of smaller stems. they’re very cute and do well lightly cooked to retain their crunch.

i also recently got some toasted walnut oil after tasting some and loving it. the bottle has this vinaigrette recipe on it, which i made for topping this dish, and it’s really delicious.

glazed purple sprouting broccoli & caramelized red onions

1 red onion, sliced thin and cut once crosswise
1 lb purple sprouting broccoli
1 tb butter or ghee [i used ghee]
1 tb white wine vinegar

place half the tablespoon butter or ghee in a frying pan and melt over medium heat. add the sliced onions and tablespoon of vinegar, sauteeing until browned on edges and soft in texture. remove from the pan and set aside.

layer the broccoli in the same pan, place the remaining tablespoon butter or ghee over the top, and add about a quarter inch of water to the bottom of the pan. cover and steam on low heat about 8 minutes or until al dente.

arrange broccoli and onions on a plate and serve. optionally, drizzle with your favorite vinaigrette [mine was toasted walnut oil, balsamic vinegar and dijon].