I have never had broccoli raab before- also known as rapini. I see an awful lot of recipes for it, but I’ve definitely never seen it for sale in my neck of the woods. However, when I was looking at seeds for the garden this spring, I found lots of them for broccoli raab, and picked up a packet. I was intrigued. The seeds indicated that they germinated at a low temperature- as low as 45 degrees, making it a great cool-weather vegetable. So as soon as I had some dirt available to plant, I scattered a few seeds and eagerly anticipated my first taste of broccoli raab.
As they grew I researched a little about this plant. So many sources indicated that this was a bitter plant to eat- that when I did harvest it, I would want to blanch it first, then saute it to try and leech out some bitterness. I began to wonder if we would even like it.
So I watched it grow very slowly, and began to wonder when to harvest it. Broccoli is obvious- it grows a head, and when it looks good you cut it. These plants were skinny and spindly, and they did have what resembled broccoli flower heads on them, but they were so tiny, I thought I better let them grow longer to try and get them to bulk up. Except then one day I walked out to the garden and found flowers on a few of the plants. If there is one thing I know, when a garden plant goes to flower, the time for eating has passed. I knew that if I wanted a taste of broccoli raab, I would have to harvest what wasn’t flowering and do something with it.
So here is a picture of my broccoli raab. They are skinny and spindly- more stem and leaves than anything else.
And here’s another picture that’s closer up. It’s hard to see, but you can see the broccoli like blossoms a little better.
I tasted the leaves raw and they really tasted a lot like cabbage. I snapped off a piece of stem- again cabbage, with a bit of the sharpness of turnip. But I didn’t find the plant bitter at all. I decided to just do a quick saute to see what I thought of this broccoli raab. I had some mushrooms, zucchini, and baby leeks that I was also using in a quiche that day, so I sliced up some extra to make myself a veggie saute for lunch. The broccoli raab was in the saute pan for maybe three minutes- I cooked it just until it was nicely wilted.
The saute was good. I can’t say anything bad about it. I didn’t find that the broccoli raab was bitter in any way. Cooked, it reminded me of spinach, texture wise, but with the flavor of cabbage. It matched up really well with the veggies I used, and seemed a natural for a spot of butter and a scattering of fresh garlic. I thought it was tasty- but I learned that it is definitely a green. It’s a leafy green veggie- and not something closer to broccoli, with some veggie bulk to it.
I also learned, that planting 12 little seeds of broccoli raab is not the way to grow it. You’ll get twelve tiny stalks of plant which doesn’t amount to much- since it cooks down like a green. When planting broccoli raab, it needs to be sowed thickly- but because it’s a small plant, I also think it’s a good candidate for container growing- which makes it a great idea for patio planters and such. I will definitely be growing it again- it was ready even before the radishes were ready, which tells you how quickly it grows. Like it’s relatives in the brassica family, broccoli, cauliflower, turnip and kohlrabi, broccoli raab is rich in vitamins A, C and K, and also is a great source of potassium, calcium and iron. I definitely recommend trying it out.