Rapini is in our farmers markets here on the West Coast and I had a lively conversation with one of my favorite farmers last weekend about if and how it differs from broccoli rabe.
It turns out both of us were wrong. I said they were the same thing and he insisted that I was completely wrong. In reality, rapini and brocolli rabe aren't exactly the same vegetable but they're very, very close cousins. And depending on who you talk to, it's a matter of semantics anyway.
So let's get down to the good stuff. If you're not familiar with rapini, it comes to us the mustard family and has spiked leaves with little green buds that look a lot like broccoli. Oftentimes you'll see it with little yellow flowers blooming towards the top of the buds. Is it related to broccoli? Nope. Rapini is actually more closely related to the turnip family with a characteristically pungent and bitter taste. People love the mustard-like tops as well as the stalks and broccoli-like buds.
How to shop for rapini: Good-quality rapini will have crisp, green leaves that aren't the slightest bit wilted. Avoid bunches with leaves that are limp or yellowing.
What to do with rapini: One of the more popular ways to prepare rapini is to simply sauté it with a bit of garlic and olive oil. You can also use it in a pasta and sausage dish or in a soup.
Related: Rapini with Orecchiete and White Beans
(Image: Flickr member onenjen licensed for use under Creative Commons; Emma Christensen)
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This looks really good,
I have seen this in the market too, will sure try it.
I'm sure this is just a glitch with the new site, but just FYI guys... the advertisement on the left side of the screen overlaps into the column on my screen, cutting off the last 2-3 words per line. Not sure if that's just an issue on my screen or not and I haven't seen it happen on other posts but I thought it might be worth reporting. I'll try reading this post again later!
@ Laurajane, yeah, that ad is driving me nuts! Can't read the post! Must be a problem with the new website layout, I'm sure they'll fix it asap.
We use rapini for a green and white pizza. Saute it with olive oil and lots of garlic, then spread on pizza dough with or without crumbled, browned Italian sausage/chopped cubes of proscuitto. Top with mozzarella, or not and bake. As soon as it comes out of the oven, finely grate Romano over the top and put back into oven for a minute so that melts. Drizzle with olive oil and enjoy.
I looked at the page in both Firefox and Chrome and it looks weird in both. The entire left pane is overlapping with the main content, making it difficult to read.
Huh. I'm reading the blog in Firefox right now, and instead of overlapping with the main content, the left frame is partway out of the window on the outside- it's apparently "e Kitchn", and farther down I can subscribe to "ail updates" or "mit a story". Weird formatting problems! Oh yeah, nice article about rapini, BTW...
It's a window size issue. Bad coders, BAD. If you make the window narrower it fixes it.
We love pasta with bacon and broccoli rabe (or rapini)! Slice the bacon and cook until crispy, then remove bacon from pan, leaving drippings. Saute garlic and then add chopped rapini/rabe to pan with garlic after 30 seconds or so (before garlic browns) -- cover and cook until tender (5-10 minutes), stirring occasionally, then add a splash of basalmic vinegar and some red pepper flakes. Toss together with pasta and the reserved bacon, and a bit of reserved pasta cooking water. Top with grated parmesan - delicious! (and no blanching of the rapini/rabe required)
Try the garlic-sauteed rapini in your sandwiches instead of lettuce and tomato. Gaetano's in CT does this and it's super delicious.
I like it blanched and then sauteed. And then served in pasta or a bit of cheese or in a sandwich.