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Rapini
Species	Brassica rapa
Cultivar group	Ruvo group

Rapini (broccoli rabe or raab) (/rɑːb/) is a green cruciferous vegetable, with the leaves, buds, and stems all being edible; the buds somewhat resemble broccoli. Rapini is known for its bitter taste, and is particularly associated with Mediterranean cuisine. It is a particularly rich dietary source of vitamin K.

Classification

Native to Europe, the plant is a member of the tribe Brassiceae of the Brassicaceae (mustard family). Rapini is classified scientifically as Brassica rapa var. ruvo, or Brassica rapa subsp. sylvestris var. esculenta. It is also known as broccoletti, broccoli raab, broccoli rabe, spring raab, and ruvo kale. Turnip and bok choy are different varieties (or subspecies) of this species.

Description

Rapini has many spiked leaves that surround clusters of green buds that resemble small heads of broccoli. Small, edible yellow flowers may be blooming among the buds.

Culinary use

The flavor of rapini has been described as nutty, bitter, and pungent, as well as almond-flavored. Rapini needs little more than a trim at the base. The entire stalk is edible when young, but the base becomes more fibrous as the season advances.

Rapini is widely used in the cuisine of Rome as well as Southern Italy, particularly in the regions of Sicily, Calabria, Campania, Apulia, In Italian, rapini is called cime di rapa or broccoletti di rapa; in Naples, the green is often called friarielli. Within Portuguese cuisine, grelos de nabo are similar in taste and texture to broccoli rabe. Rapini is also popular in the Galicia region of northwestern Spain; a rapini festival (Feira do grelo) is held in the Galician town of As Pontes every February.

Rapini may be sautéed or braised with olive oil and garlic, and sometimes chili pepper and anchovy. It may be used as an ingredient in soup, served with orecchiette, other pasta, or pan-fried sausage. Rapini is sometimes (but not always) blanched before being cooked further.

In the United States, rapini is popular in Italian American kitchens; the D'Arrigo Brothers popularized the ingredient in the United States and gave it the name broccoli rabe. Broccoli rabe is a component of some hoagies and submarine sandwiches; in Philadelphia, a popular sandwich is Italian-style roast pork with locally-made sharp provolone cheese, broccoli rabe, and peppers. Rapini can also be a component of pasta dishes, especially when accompanied by Italian sausage.

Nutrition

Raw rapini is 93% water, 3% each of protein and carbohydrates, and contains negligble fat (table). In a reference amount of 100 g (3.5 oz), raw rapini supplies 22 calories of food energy, and is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin K (187% DV), vitamin C (22% DV), and folate (21% DV) (table). Vitamin A, vitamin E, and several B vitamins, along with the dietary minerals, iron and manganese, are in moderate amounts (10-19% DV) (table).

See also

• Broccolini
• Gai lan
• Chinese cabbage
• Collard greens
• Mustard greens
• Rutabaga
• Turnip

References

1. United States Food and Drug Administration (2024). "Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels". FDA. Archived from the original on 2024-03-27. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
2. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019). "Chapter 4: Potassium: Dietary Reference Intakes for Adequacy". In Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.). Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US). pp. 120–121. doi:10.17226/25353. ISBN 978-0-309-48834-1. PMID 30844154. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
3. ^ "Brassica rapa (Ruvo Group)". North Carolina State University, Cooperative Extension. 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
4. Barbieri, G. (2008). "Glucosinolates profile of Brassica rapa L. subsp. Sylvestris L. Janch. var. esculenta Hort". Food Chemistry. 107 (4): 1687–1691. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2007.09.054. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
5. Conversa, G. (2016). "Bio-physical, physiological, and nutritional aspects of ready-to-use cima di rapa (Brassica rapa L. subsp. sylvestris L. Janch. var. esculenta Hort.) as affected by conventional and organic growing systems and storage time". Scientia Horticulturae. 213 (14): 76–86. doi:10.1016/j.scienta.2016.10.021. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
6. "Erbaio fotografico". Università di Bologna - Dipartimento di scienze e tecnologie agro-alimentari. 2019.
7. ^ "Rapini (broccoli raab)". sonomamg.ucanr.edu. UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2018-06-17.
8. ^ Lidia Matticchio Bastianich & Tanya Bastianich Manuali, Lidia's Italy in America (Knopf, 2011), p. 127.
9. Elizabeth., Schneider (2001). Vegetables from amaranth to zucchini : the essential reference : 500 recipes and 275 photographs (1st ed.). New York: Morrow. ISBN 978-0688152604. OCLC 46394048.
10. ^ Vincent Schiavelli, Papa Andrea's Sicilian Table: Recipes and Remembrances of My Grandfather (Citadel Press, rev. ed., 2001), p. 40.
11. ^ Rosetta Costantino with Janet Fletcher, My Calabria: Rustic Family Cooking from Italy's Undiscovered South (W.W. Norton, 2010), p. 217.
12. ^ Marcella Hazan & Victor Hazan, Ingredienti: Marcella's Guide to the Market (Scribner, 2016), p. 89.
13. ^ Rossella Rago, Recipe: Orecchiette con Cime di Rapa, Explore Parts Unknown (November 22, 2017).
14. Marlena Spieler, A Taste of Naples: Neapolitan Culture, Cuisine, and Cooking (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018), p. 67.
15. David Leite, The New Portuguese Table: Exciting Flavors from Europe's Western Coast (Clarkson Potter, 2009).
16. Ashifa Kassam, Google Translate error sees Spanish town advertise clitoris festival, The Guardian (November 3, 2015).
17. Domenica Marchetti, The Glorious Vegetables of Italy (Chronicle Books, 2013), p. 17.
18. Vegetables Illustrated: An Inspiring Guide with 700+ Kitchen-Tested Recipes (America's Test Kitchen, 2019), p. 56.
19. "Broccoli Rabe Pasta with Italian Sausage and Fennel". Familystyle Food. 2017-10-29. Retrieved 2018-09-10.

Further reading

• Wang X, Wang H, Wang J, et al. (October 2011). "The genome of the mesopolyploid crop species Brassica rapa". Nature Genetics. 43 (10): 1035–9. doi:10.1038/ng.919. PMID 21873998. S2CID 205358099.
• Osborn TC, Kole C, Parkin IA, et al. (July 1997). "Comparison of flowering time genes in Brassica rapa, B. napus and Arabidopsis thaliana". Genetics. 146 (3): 1123–9. PMC 1208040. PMID 9215913.
• Suwabe K, Iketani H, Nunome T, Kage T, Hirai M (May 2002). "Isolation and characterization of microsatellites in Brassica rapa L". Theoretical and Applied Genetics. 104 (6–7): 1092–1098. doi:10.1007/s00122-002-0875-7. PMID 12582617. S2CID 33184043.
• Cefola M, Amodio ML, Cornacchia R, Rinaldi R, Vanadia S, Colelli G (April 2010). "Effect of atmosphere composition on the quality of ready-to-use broccoli raab (Brassica rapa L.)". Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 90 (5): 789–97. doi:10.1002/jsfa.3885. PMID 20355114.
• Mun JH, Yu HJ, Shin JY, Oh M, Hwang HJ, Chung H (October 2012). "Auxin response factor gene family in Brassica rapa: genomic organization, divergence, expression, and evolution". Molecular Genetics and Genomics. 287 (10): 765–84. doi:10.1007/s00438-012-0718-4. PMC 3459075. PMID 22915303.

External links

• Media related to Brassica rapa at Wikimedia Commons

• Brassica
• Leaf vegetables
• Italian cuisine