Broccoli rabe (rapini)
Broccoli rabe (rapini): Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
Broccoli rabe, or rapini, is a vegetable valued for leafy shoots and small clusters of flower buds. It belongs to Brassica rapa, including the Ruvo Group, rather than the species of ordinary large-headed broccoli. Its Italian name cime di rapa describes the combination of shoot tips, leaves and stems.The plant produces fairly large green leaves with wavy or toothed edges. Their surface may be smooth or slightly wrinkled, sometimes with a waxy appearance. Upright shoots carry small groups of green buds. The whole plant looks leafier and less centred on one large flowering head than Calabrese broccoli.The buds resemble miniature broccoli clusters, but that does not make the two vegetables identical. In rapini, leaves and tender stems are central to its culinary identity. The root is not the main attraction even though the plant is botanically close to turnips. Generic young turnip greens therefore do not fully describe this vegetable…
