Broccoli Rabe with Brown Rice, Figs and Pecans

I’m preparing myself for the long road ahead. The long, hot road ahead. 

I could say that I just started thinking about fall, but that would be a lie. Thoughts of fall began for me way back in June. The truth is, I think of fall pretty much every season of the year. 

I keep reminding myself – Self, you live in the Central Valley now. In a few weeks, images of pumpkins, sweaters and warm drinks will enter all of your social media feeds. You’ll flip through them while standing in front of the air conditioner vent. It’s okay. Fall will get here. It just takes its sweet time. 

The slow transition has no influence on my cooking. In fact, my lunches are already starting to show signs of apples, walnuts and cinnamon. It’s just barely noticeable, but the fall ingredients are starting to make their appearance. 

In fact, one ingredient that I associate with fall since living in California made quite a big appearance on my door step just yesterday. I was expecting the heavy box the FedEx driver handed to me. But expecting a large delivery of California Figs is much different than actually receiving them. I immediately danced around the foyer and Snapped or Instagram storied or whatever it is we are doing these days. 

Fresh food presents are the absolute best and California Figs was incredibly generous. In my possession now are a case each of fresh Black Mission, Brown Turkey, Sierra and Tiger figs, along with some dried Black Mission Figs. You can check all of them out in their gorgeous glory on my Instagram feed. 

Taking advantage of their freshness, I spent the afternoon photographing them. It’s impossible to pick a favorite. 

I’m going to put together a post on their surprising differences soon. This is the first time I’ve had multiple varieties on hand to taste them all at the same time. 

It didn’t take me long to work them into a recipe. I’ve been overdosing on sautéed greens and grain salads lately. They are so versatile because they can be eaten warm, at room temperature or cold. At least I eat them in all three ways. 

I like broccoli rabe a lot, but only if it is chopped into small pieces. Not only does this make it great for salads and sautés, but it cooks more quickly, too. But don’t get hung up on the broccoli rabe here. Standard broccoli will work just as well. 

I grabbed some rosemary from the garden and that gave the sautéed veggies a nice earthy flavor that was made even better by the brown rice. I used mostly brown rice with a little wild rice mixed in because I had a small amount left from a recent project. Really any combination of grains works here. 

Finally the figs! Black Mission and Sierra. The Black Mission have an earthy flavor that goes well with the the rice and rosemary while the Sierra have a bright, but mild sweetness. Those were tossed in at the end and then I topped it with pecans. 

Fig season has begun and will last through December so you have plenty of time to add this dish to your must-make list!

What you’ll need:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
3 cups finely chopped broccoli rabe
1 1/2 cups cooked whole grain rice
1/2 teaspoon fine ground sea salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped pecans
4 fresh figs, sliced and quartered

How to make it: 

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add the rosemary and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the broccoli rabe and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until it reaches your desired tenderness. 

Stir in the rice and cook about 1 minute, just until it is heated through. Sprinkle in the salt and black pepper. 

Turn off the heat and add the pecans and figs. Toss to combine and serve.