Rapini Linguine with Cambozola and Walnuts

Rapini Linguine with Cambozola
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Bitter greens are among my favorite things to eat and cook with. They are versatile, toothsome, and bring contrast to every dish. When I was a child, it was quite the opposite. I suppose there’s nothing noteworthy about a kid turning their nose up at anything bitter. It’s part of biology after all. Our aversion to bitterness at a young age is an evolutionary feature; it supposedly keeps us from ingesting poisons. We are drawn to sweetness because it usually indicates a high-calorie count – something we need when growing. But we tend to get over this as we enter adolescence and that was certainly the case with me. I don’t precisely remember when rapini captured my attention but it has been my ride-or-die for at least a decade. And today’s Rapini Linguine is my love letter to the green. So let’s get romantic and make this beauty.

Rapini leaves on a cutting board.

Before we launch into making this Rapini Linguine, let’s talk about what it is. This dish features tender strands of linguine, dressed in a sauce of pureed rapini leaves, garlic, and lemon juice. The pasta is topped with sautéed rapini stalks, creamy chunks of cambozola cheese, and chopped walnuts. This dish is bitter, nutty, sharp, and just a little bit sweet. It truly has it all and its name rhymes, which is fun. What more could you want from a dish?

Rapini stalks on a cutting board.

The first thing we’re going to do is separate the rapini leaves from the stalks. It will look like you’re prepping enough rapini to feed a green-loving army, but I promise you’re not. Rapini leaves, like spinach, cook down a lot. Once the greens are separated, place a pot of water over high heat. Once the water comes to a boil, plunge the leaves into the water. Continue to cook them until they wilt. Pluck the leaves out of the water and plunge them into an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Transfer the rapini leaves to a blender. Add two peeled cloves of garlic, salt, and the juice of one lemon. Blitz everything together on high until the mixture is very smooth. Transfer the puree to a bowl and set it aside.

Blanche the rapini leaves in a large pot of boiling.
Rapini puree in a bowl.

Next, we’re going to pour some oil into a large skillet. Once the oil is shimmering, add fennel seeds, crushed red pepper flakes, and thinly sliced garlic. Sauté until the seeds begin to pop and the garlic is golden. Strain the oil into a bowl. Set the fennel seeds, pepper flakes, and garlic aside. Now, take that gorgeously flavored oil and pour it back into the skillet. Add some thinly sliced shallots and a pinch of salt. Sauté the shallots until just translucent, then add the rapini stalks. The stalks should be coarsely chopped. This is a low-key meal, there’s no need to bring any serious knife skills into this.

Deglazing the pan with dry vermouth.
Adding the pasta to the frying pan with the sauteed veggies.

While the rapini does its thing, cook the linguine until al dente. Once the pasta is good to go, deglaze the pan with a splash of dry vermouth and add in the pasta. Pour in the rapini puree and the fennel seeds, crushed red pepper flakes, and garlic you fried earlier. Toss to coat the pasta in the sauce. Pile the pasta onto plates and garnish with chunks of creamy gorgonzola and finely chopped walnuts.

Rapini Linguine with Cambozola

A quick note about the cambozola. If you’re not a blue cheese fan, this cheese is actually for you. I know I said something similar about Gorgonzola. But I really do mean it about the cambozola. Cambozola is more or less a hybrid of camembert and gorgonzola cheese. Specifically, it is a combination of Penicillium camemberti and Penicillium roqueforti mold, which is used to make gorgonzola, roquefort, and stilton. The result is a very mild cheese with a rich, creamy texture similar to triple cream brie. It is not overly abrasive in flavor and it melts readily on the tongue – truly, a cheese for the people. So even if you’re on the fence about blue cheese, chances are you will like cambozola. Unless, of course, you don’t like soft cheeses, I suppose.

Rapini Linguine with Cambozola

With the blue cheese elephant in the room out of the way, I think we’ve hit all the important bits about this very off-the-cuff meal. So that’s everything you need to know about this Rapini Linguine with Cambozola and Walnuts. A full-flavored bowl of pasta that is a joy to eat and a cinch to pull off.

Enjoy!

Rapini Linguine with Cambozola

Rapini Linguine with Cambozola and Walnuts

This Rapini Linguine features tender strands of linguine, dressed in a sauce of pureed rapini leaves, garlic, and lemon juice. The pasta is topped with sautéed rapini stalks, creamy chunks of cambozola cheese, and chopped walnuts.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course
Servings 2

Equipment

  • 1 blender or food processor
  • 1 Large pot
  • 1 Large skillet

Ingredients
  

  • 1 (285g, 10oz) bunch rapini
  • 4 cloves garlic divided
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 lemon juiced
  • 250g (9oz) uncooked linguine
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp whole fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 4 shallots peeled and thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup dry vermouth
  • 100g (3.5oz) cambozola cheese** coarsely chopped
  • ½ cup unsalted roasted walnuts finely chopped

Instructions
 

  • Remove the rapini leaves from the stalks. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and plunge the leaves into the water. Boil until they wilt and immediately transfer them to an ice bath. Coarsely chop the rapini stalks and set them aside.
  • Drain the leaves and place them into a blender. Add two of the garlic cloves, the salt, and the juice of a lemon. Blitz on high until a smooth puree forms. Transfer it to a bowl and set it aside.
  • Fill the now-empty large pot with water and bring it to a rolling boil. Add salt to the water and the linguine. Cook the linguine according to the package's directions.
  • While the linguine is cooking, thinly slice the remaining garlic cloves. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Once the oil is shimmering, add the fennel seeds, crushed red pepper flakes, and garlic slices. Cook until the fennel seeds begin to pop and the garlic turns a soft golden color. Drain the oil and set it and the solids aside.
  • Return the drained oil back to the skillet and add the shallots and a pinch of salt. Sauté until the shallots are just translucent. Add the rapini stalks and sauté until tender. Pour in the vermouth and simmer until reduced by half.
  • Your linguine should be done by now. Drain the linguine and add it to the skillet with the rapini. Add the rapini puree, the fennel seeds, crushed red pepper flakes, and garlic. Toss to coat. Taste and season with additional salt accordingly.
  • Divide the pasta across a couple of plates and top with the cambozola and walnuts. Serve immediately.

Notes

** If you truly don’t like blue cheese, feel free to substitute the cambozola for brie or camembert. 
Keyword cambozola, linguine, rapini, walnuts

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