Winter Produce Guide: Broccoli Rabe

Tips for buying, storing, and cooking broccoli rabe, plus our favorite broccoli rabe recipes

Of all the bitter greens, broccoli rabe—also called rapini, broccoletti, and broccoli raab—is one of our favorites. Available year-round, it's at its best in cooler weather. The vegetable's leafy stalks and tender buds taste like a delicious hybrid of broccoli and mustard greens, with a robust, slightly bitter flavor that works great in pastas, on top of pizzas, or slow-cooked as a side dish. Toss blanched and chopped broccoli rabe with goat cheese, red chile flakes, lemon zest, and delicate orecchiette for a bright, spicy take on pasta salad; sauté it with garlic for a pungent side to pair with parmesan-crusted fish; or cook it gently in a water bath over medium-low heat for an hour or so, until it turns mellow and supple, to serve alongside Italian sausage.


    Choose broccoli rabe with thin stalks and few flowers; avoid any that are yellowing or that smell like cabbage.


    Wrap stalks in a damp paper towel and store in a perforated plastic bag in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Avoid storing it near ethylene-emitting produce such as apples or pears.


    Trim off tough ends of the stalks, if needed; rinse thoroughly and pat dry.

Broccoli Rabe Recipes