I don’t usually write about failures.
But we all have them.
And there’s no shame.
AND this wasn’t even actually a failure...
It just wasn’t what I wanted it to be.
As I’m sure you all remember from past posts, we love pasta with hot Italian sausage, garlic, Parmigiano, and broccoli rabe. Sometimes, as I posted yesterday...
http://www.thisoldchef.com/blog.html/broccoli_sausage_and_red_wine_pasta/
When I have no broccoli rabe, I use broccoli. Now, I love broccoli. It’s one of my favorite foods...
And recently, being rabe-less, I decided to employ my old substitute...
Well, kids... No Dice. This was fine. Sorta kinda. After all, great sausage, Parmigiano, garlic, cream... what’s not to love? But boy, was there something missing.
The bracing oomph, the wild bitter edge that broccoli rabe brings, was not there. How interesting to discover that neither one of us was fooled by the formerly successful substitution.
Addendum
I realized the next morning that I used to add a handful of arugula!!!
A couple of days later, I did just that, and, with the requisite bitterness restored...
VICTORY!
Still not the real deal, of course, but the This Is Pretty Damn Good When There’s No Broccoli Rabe at Hand variation was restored to its former place of honor in the rep.