Contributed by Angie Cleveland

This week, in our boxes, we have an odd but intriguing vegetable. Rapini (pronounced: rah-PEE-nee) is also known as broccoli raab or broccolini. While it has broccoli in its name, it is not related to broccoli. It is actually a relative of the turnip. The name comes from the broccoli-type buds that appear among its leaves. It is believed that this vegetable was found as a wild herb in China or the Mediterranean. Today, it is cultivated in California, New Jersey, Mexico, Arizona, and Canada.
Wondering what to do with your rapini? First, wash it as you would any green and remove the bottom portions that may be tough. Both the stems and leaves can be eaten, although the stems will take a bit longer to cook. Here are some simple cooking instructions along with some delicious rapini recipes:
Rinse and trim 1/4-inch from bottom of stems. Cut stalks crosswise into 2-inch pieces and drop them into salted (optional), boiling water. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes and remove with slotted spoon. Saute the blanched rapini in a little olive oil and as much garlic as you like for 3 to 5 minutes until tender.

Ingredients

n/a

Instructions

n/a

Read more recipes