Rapini. This is essentially a turnip plant that doesn't produce a bulb and is grown for the delicious leaves. Jagged leaves with assertive flavor. Pick when small and tender. Mix with lettuce or chicory for a tasty salad. Excellent cooked as a side vegetable (boil til tender, drain and then 'jump' with some aioli and hot pepper in olive oil. Sow in early spring or fall, 1cm down and space 6-8 inches. Very early - 30-40 days. 12 gram packet.
Rapini senza testa means "without head". So if you are looking for rapini (broccoli rabe) that has the pretty heads and impresses your dinner guests, this isn't the one for you. But if you are into it for the taste, senza testa is the way to go. I've grown both side by side and prefer senza testa.
back for another packet! these greens are so good for omelets, pasta dishes, bean dishes, pizza--even wonderful in enchiladas. remove the stems for cooking. we grow them in big pots, and they keep producing for cut and come again cooking greens. the stems are quite sturdy, so they hold up well in our windy garden. some insect damage, but not much--backs of the leaves have an irritating hairy covering, and the taste is bitter, so most bugs will go elsewhere.
