Broccoli Rabe With Pecorino Crunch

Utica greens is a classic Italian American dish that goes by that name everywhere except Utica itself. Said to originate in Chesterfield Restaurant in central New York, Utica greens typically features escarole or another bitter green, hot pickled chiles, cheese, breadcrumbs, and a cured meat like prosciutto. This is a fairly faithful rendition of the original, with bushy broccoli rabe as the bitter green of choice. We go further than blanching, here, and cook the broccoli rabe in plenty of heavily salted water until it relaxes into a silken tangle that sits so nicely under the crisp, cheesy breadcrumbs. Pickled cherry peppers are truest to the origin, but another hot pickled chile, such as banana peppers or even jalapeños, will do quite nicely.