I stopped by Nash’s Organic Produce stand a few days ago, and thought I saw some rapini, a vegetable I discovered in Italy, and have sprouting in my own garden as I write this. It is also called broccoli rabe or raab, and a few other names too.
The recipe for this Rapini and Penne Pasta is online at the Live It Up Vegan blog.
But no. It was not broccoli rabe, but cabbage rabe that I saw, and another display of kale rabe. I took home a couple of bunches of cabbage rabe, and with one bunch made a yummy mess of greens for a side dish. Very simply, it was sautéed in olive oil, with some minced garlic. Salt and pepper as you like.
The second bunch worked well sauteed with some chopped bacon and onion, a little olive oil, as a topping for some pasta. I would have tossed on some pine nuts if I had some on hand. A sprinkling of parmesan worked well with the flavors.
But back to rapini. Like broccoli, it is part of the Brassica genus, and though it is often called “broccoli rabe”, it is more closely related to turnips and mustard, and does not form heads.
Some people find the bitterness of rapini too strong. It tends to be milder when younger, just as its cousin arugula, which can be very bitter if picked late in the season. Rapini can be boiled or steamed to reduce the bitterness, but some of the nutrients will be lost.
A variety of recipes for rapini can be found online, so check out your farmers’ market or supermarket, and give your palate a little trip to Italy!
The Italian South 
nice post…thanks for liking my post
Thanks–the rapini post is one of my most popular ones, although I find it pretty curious. Sandy
Whoa! So now you’ve got me salivating! Pine nuts? Lots of olive oil? This cannot be a bad recipe.. Sounds like I need to plan another trip to Sequim in ti,me for the rabe harvest—
My rabe is producing like crazy right now–and I’m not home to enjoy it! But I had a tip from my daughter Marina that Tommy DiNic’s here in Philadelphia makes a pork-and-rabe sandwich to die for, so that’s what I am having for lunch today. Let us know when you’re coming back to Sequim!
It does my old heart good to see that you are following some of your Mom’s simple recipes for cooking greens.
Love, Your Mom
Thanks, Mom! for the tasty food heritage you provided. Happy to do your heart good–I know it needs it!
we love Nash’s raab, introduced to our table when Erika worked on the farm for a year. Flavorful and easily added to any meal.
Glad you liked this one–Stay tuned for more flavors of Italy.
Hi Sandy- Nash has had several different kinds of raab this season- Earlier I think there was some brocolli raab, but I’m not sure. We have had kale raab several times and it is good too. The earlier the better, as the last batch we tried was becoming a little bitter. You had some interesting recipes I’ll have to try!
Gaye
Hope you enjoy the recipes. I have little sprouts of broccoli rabe coming up in my garden now.
Never heard of this before/ Thanks for the tip.
Sandy
http://www.sandysays1.wordpress.com
Hope you enjoy trying it. As another comment said, it’s best young and tender, and gets more bitter as the plants age.