picture by Rick Gush
When I was growing up and wandering around the fields and forests , I ate a whole lot of idle mustard - efflorescence buds . I still run through a lot of wild mustard greens whenever I encounter it , and sometimes I even pick a bagful of the flower buds to take home and throw into one of my salad . When I moved to Italy , I was surprised , and please , to see that eat these tangy and tasty flower bud is an satisfactory mainstream practice here . Farmers out here actually train the plants that produce these luscious fiddling floret .
What I ’m talking about iscima di rapa , or as the English - speaking world calls it : broccoli rabe . The cultivate form make plumper florets than the wild cousin , but as far as my taste bud are concerned , it ’s the same thing .
The Western world is starting to fire up up to the deliciousness of these modest Brassica oleracea italica congenator , but there ’s a whole lot of confusion regarding the name of this plant life , which is identified with many different epithet : broccoletti , broccoli rabe , spring rabe , fall rabe , raab , rappi , friarielli and rapini . My best-loved name for this works is definitely Bargeman ’s cultivated cabbage , but I suppose the steep declination in the act of active bargemen has reduced the general habit of that name . Rabe is the Latin condition for Brassica rapa , so broccoli rabe means fundamentally turnip Brassica oleracea italica , which is an accurate verbal description , since the edible floweret do very much resemble lax broccoli sprouts . In Italy , the namecima di rapais used , which means Brassica rapa tops , and a great many locality have their own diversity ofcimawhich is proudly opt over any others .
It is surprising how many dissimilar pabulum we get from theBrassica genus . Broccoli , Brassica oleracea botrytis , dinero , kale , napa cultivated cabbage , pak choi , turnip , turnip cabbage , rapeseed , canola , and mustard are all member of this over - performing genus that we often call cole crop or cruciferous vegetables .
Brassica oleracea italica rabe is like most cole crops in that it generally prefers the nerveless season , but some growers do to eke out smaller craw of floweret even through the summers . The plant grows similarly to Brassica oleracea italica in the mode that it will produce a series of new harvestable shoot , so the agriculturalist can unremarkably glean two or three prison term from the same plant . Rabe is susceptible to the same problem as other cruciferous vegetables , and cabbage worms and snails seem to make the most worry . Several American come sellers declare oneself broccoli rabe seed .
The disarray about this plant continues with the botanic name , and most Italian phytologist call theircima di rapa : Brassica rapasubspeciessilvestris . My abbreviated exploration on the meshwork leads me to believe the good Romance name isBrassica rapasubspeciesoleifera .
I think these fresh floret are best steamed lightly and serve with pasta . Down in the Confederacy of Italy , cima di rapais very often serve well withorecchiette , which is an ear - shaped pasta .
Read more of Rick ’s Favorite Crops »
