Brassica rapa 'Rapini' (Broccoli Raab)

Rapini, also called broccoli raab, is a beloved staple of Italian and Mediterranean cooking, and one of those vegetables that reveals its full personality only once you know how to cook it. The plant produces tender clusters of small broccoli-like buds surrounded by leafy, spiky greens and slender stems. The characteristic flavor is pleasantly bitter with a mustardy, nutty bite that softens and turns savory when blanched and then finished in garlic and olive oil.

That classic bitterness is not a flaw but a feature, and it pairs beautifully with rich, fatty ingredients. Rapini alongside sweet Italian sausage is a combination that has earned its place at family tables for generations. A quick blanch in well-salted water before the final cooking tames the bitterness for those who prefer a gentler flavor.

Rapini thrives in cool conditions and is well suited to the Oregon coast's long, mild springs and falls. It matures quickly, in as few as 40 to 50 days, and rewards regular harvesting with ongoing production.