While desperately awaiting the arrival of local spring greens, we’ve been buying broccoli rabe at our Whole Foods because Michelle can no longer tolerate the taste of the usual bland broccoli flown in all winter from god knows where. The stuff comes in giant bunches, and we were faced with a pile perilously close to becoming chicken food.
Thinking about the rabe’s bitter green flavor and seeking a simpler way to get the potato-like taste she got from Jerusalem artichokes in her recent effort, Michelle suggested a rabe-and-choke pizza. It has, in the last couple of weeks, become our favorite combination. The blanched, bitter greens and florets stand up well to a 500° oven, and the potato-y sunchokes add a touch of astringency under a blanket of mozzarella cheese.
Tomorrow we’ll put down the money for this year’s farm share, and given the creepily warm winter we may see local green stuff soon. And if there’s anything broccoli-like in our basket at all, we will want to make this pizza again—and will lay waste to its deliciousness once more.
Preheat oven to 500°, preferably with a pizza stone placed in the lower part of the oven. Sauté onion slices in olive oil in a skillet until caramelized. Add garlic slices near end of cooking time. Set aside. Boil sunchoke slices in salted water until tender. Drain. Dry on paper towels. Blanch broccoli rabe in salted boiling water. Drain in a colander, rinsing with cold water. Sauté in olive oil along with some red pepper flakes. Splash on some balsamic vinegar. Roll out pizza dough. Place on a sheet of parchment paper. (Or directly into a pizza pan if you don’t have a stone and/or a peel.) Fold over edges of dough and brush them with olive oil. Poke crust with tines of fork. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese over. Spread white sauce over bottom of crust. Top with sunchoke slices, then with onions and garlic, then with mozzarella cheese, then with broccoli rabe. Sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese. Use a peel to place the pizza (with the parchment paper still under it) onto the heated stone. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until crust and cheese are browned.BROCCOLI RABE AND SUNCHOKE PIZZA
Gourmandistan 
Brilliant!
Thanks, Rona!
Just made broccoli pizza last weekend. Pretty much the same ingredients but goat cheese instead of artichoke. Yours look delicious!
There’s nothing new under the sun, is there? Thanks for stopping by.
Very beautiful photography of a lovely, subtle dish.
Merci!
I found myself having to click on this post – the photography is wonderful. This recipe is equally as wonderful though, sounds truly delicious.
How kind!
Gorgeous. You guys are rockin’ those sun chokes! ; )
Thanks! Slim pickins on the local veg these days. So envious of you California folks!
I love veggie pizza, love rabe and love this!
Why, thanks!
Unless it’s a margarita pizza, I rarely eat a veggie one but this version had me drooling!
Thanks! It’s good one, if I do say so myself. Though, I, too, generally like the meat ones best.
That looks incredible – can´t get the exact same ingredients here but I am inspired ot make an adapted version!
Guess you’d better swing over to a grocery in Italy!
My goodness, that’s a lovely pizza. I’ve never tried broccoli rabe but thanks to this I’m swinging by Whole Foods to pick some up!
Thanks much! Hope you like. It can be a bit bitter, but that’s tempered by all the other stuff on the pizza.
no way…its too uncanny!!! just made a thin crust pizza with broccoli rabe, mushrooms and a ton of garlic. Polished it off before I could get my camera. Happy to find many in the broccoli rabe pizza camp 🙂
Great minds!
that’s gorgeous! I love how there’s no hint of the boring old tomato sauce on this pizza. I’m lucky enough to work at the farmer’s market here in London, so I get access to really good local and fresh vegetables 😉 might just be picking some broccoli rabe up this saturday.
Oh, what nice work! Thanks for stopping by.
Had some broccoli rabe with ricotte on toast with a pouched egg at Rye. It was great. Don’t believe I had had it before
So glad you liked Rye! (I didn’t have that dish, but Steve did on another visit and loved it.)
Perfect – I just used sunchokes for the first time in a salad last week when no jicama was to be found and have a couple left. Broccoli raab is one of my favorites so this is something I’d love to try. Looks beautiful, too – love the photos!
Thanks! Hope your pizza turns out as deliciously as ours!
I didn’t even know what rabe was! Learnt something new today. This looks wholesome and tasty. Thanks for sharing!
That’s what I love about having blogging friends all over the world. I’ve learned so many new things! (You could use any bitter green and have basically the same result.)
I love the wonderful strong flavor of rabe and your pizza must have been delicious.
Thanks, Karen!
I cannot wait for our CSA to start delivering broccoli again–it’s like a different vegetable than the store bought type. I love it grilled with an anchovy vinaigrette and I sometimes chop up those leftovers for a pizza. So good! All your recipes look great, I’m glad I came across your blog!
Thanks so much, Emmy. Like you, I’m counting the days until the CSA starts again. We got a little winter CSA tasting recently which was nice—but, sadly, I dislike Russian kale just about as much as I dislike beets!
Rabe, Choke (yay, Michelle!) and caramelized onions with white sauce and a perfect crust. Sort of sounds like heaven. Extra Parmigiano Reggiano cheese for me. 🙂