20 Broccoli Rabe Recipes to Make While The Veggie Is in Season (2024)

FAQs

Is broccoli rabe a seasonal vegetable? ›

Seasonality. Rapini generally has two seasons — late fall and winter, for varieties planted in the late summer/early fall; and late spring/early summer, for varieties planted in the early spring. Cool weather, especially after a first frost, just makes it more delicious.

How Do You Reduce the Bitter Taste of Broccoli Rabe? The easiest way to rid broccoli rabe of some of its bitter flavor is by blanching it first. Just a quick dip in boiling water extracts enough of the bitterness and jumpstarts the cooking.

The stalks, leaves, and blossoms of the plant are all edible—you'll just want to trim off the base of the stem, as it can be woody. If you end up with thick-stemmed broccoli rabe despite your best efforts otherwise, simply shave or peel a bit of the stem like you would with beefy asparagus stalks.

Rapini or broccoli rabe (/rɑːb/) is a green cruciferous vegetable, with the leaves, buds, and stems all being edible; the buds somewhat resemble broccoli, but do not form a large head. Rapini is known for its bitter taste, and is particularly associated with Mediterranean cuisine.

Does broccoli rabe make you gassy? A. Yes, it can make you gassy. That is because its fibre content can reach the colon and be acted on by bacteria in our bodies, releasing gas and one of its carbohydrates, raffinose.

Broccoli rabe is a great source of vitamin A and vitamin C (ascorbic acid), which contribute to good vision and better immunity, respectively. It's also rich in potassium, which is important for regulating blood pressure, and magnesium, which your body uses to produce energy.

Broccoli rabe is leafier, thinner, and less floral than broccoli. The stems are long and tender and bush out in leafy clusters with small flowering heads, like broccolini. But, where broccolini is sweet and mild, broccoli rabe is bold and bitter. The flavor is almost like that of mustard greens mixed with horseradish.

Trim off the very end of the stem and discard. Broccoli rabe can be cooked & eaten whole. stems from the leaves. Chop them into 2-inch bite-size pieces.

How to Freeze Broccoli Rabe. Place broccoli rabe into boiling water and blanch for 2 minutes. Then, plunge into ice water for 2 minutes. Pack dried broccoli rabe into Freezer Zipper bags.

Within 40 to 60 days of planting, broccoli rabe is ready to harvest. Before the flowers bloom, the leaves and seed stalks are harvested. The greens should be cut at ground level when plants are approximately 10 to 15 inches tall, before buds open.

Does broccoli rabe need to be refrigerated? ›

Store broccoli rabe in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Trim away the ends of the stems and any wilted leaves. If any of the stems are particularly thick or tough, they can be peeled with a vegetable peeler.

Broccoli rabe — also known as rapini — isn't just part of the broccoli plant, and it's not just baby broccoli. In fact, the leafy, cruciferous vegetable is closely related to the turnip.

Broccoli rabe is a cool weather vegetable that's at its best in fall, early winter, and early spring. Warm weather encourages the plant to bolt (or flower), which makes it even more bitter in flavor than usual.

California farmers produce a lot of broccoli each winter with about 40% of the crop grown in Monterey County, where they enjoy the most days of perfect broccoli weather – 60 to 65 degrees.

Broccoli rabe (pronounced “rob”) is a leafy green cruciferous vegetable related to the turnip. Also known as rapini, rappone, broccoli raab, rapa, Italian mustard, turnip broccoli, and Chinese flowering cabbage, the leafy green was reportedly brought to the United States from Italy in the late 1920s.

Broccoli is a cool-season crop, so it should be started in early- to mid-spring (depending on your climate) for an early summer crop or in mid- to late summer for a fall crop.