Cime di rapa and what they look like | All Things Sicilian and more

CIME DI RAPA and pasta

This is the season for Cime di rapa and I can’t get enough of them.

Unfortunately this green leafy vegetable that is in season now (winter) can be hard to find, even at the Queen Victoria Market (Melbourne). Gus and Carmel who have a stall at the QVM called Il Fruttivendelo (Frutti+ vendelo= fruit+ seller) have bunches of Cime di rapa. A fruttivendolo doesn’t only sell fruit, and as this well stocked stall attests, they have a wide range of seasonal fruit and vegetables; some that you will have trouble to find anywhere else, for example, I buy prickly pears, chicory, endives and much more.

The only other person who sometimes has Cime di rapa is John from Tomato City.

And by the way, another vegetable that is difficult to source is artichoke and both of these stalls sell them, in season of course.

I have seen bunches of Cime di rapa in greengrocers in the suburbs, at least those that have Italian proprietors. You won’t have any trouble finding them in Adelaide as most greengrocers are owned by Italians.

Italians mostly refer to them as Cime (tops or tips). A rapa is a turnip, Cime di rapa are turnip tips or tops, perhaps they are called this because this green leafy vegetable is a mustard tasting green, like turnips. As you see they look a bit like broccoli and they have a yellow flower.

As for my recent jaunt to the Dandenong Market, while Cime may have eluded me, the diversity of fresh produce on display was nothing short of mesmerizing The quality was superb, and the prices were amazingly cheap. Not surprisingly, there were very good looking, high quality, fresh zucchini, eggplants and okra at all the stalls.

Amidst the chatter of countless languages, the market’s vibrancy was enormous. I say not surprisingly, as the produce vendors and shoppers reflected the rich tapestry of cultures that live in Dandenong.

The City of Greater Dandenong is the most culturally diverse community in Australia, with residents from 157 birth places and 64 per cent of its population born overseas.

Among the more than 130 different languages spoken are Vietnamese, Khmer, Chinese, Greek, Albanian, a large Indian population especially Punjabi, Pakistani, Afghan, Sri Lankan and Sinhalese.

When it comes to sourcing ingredients, I’m no stranger to the busy streets of Melbourne’s CBD and I have no problems finding Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese and Chinese ingredients, but I go to Dandenong mainly for the array of Indian hard to source treasures. That recent excursion yielded spices, dhal, and pickles;each ingredient an undertaking of culinary endeavours to come.

I was really keen to cook Cime that night and came home via a greengrocer that would have them, and they did.

Cime di rapa

Most cooks who are familiar with this green leafy vegetable are also familiar with the most popular and common ways of cooking them to dress short pasta, especially orecchiette – (little ears shaped pasta, photo above). The greens are usually softened/cooked first and then tossed in extra virgin olive oil, garlic and chilli. It is a Southern Italian dish (made popular in Puglia, Bari is the capital city). Cows are widespread in the North, sheep in the South and therefore it is fitting that the grated cheese to top the pasta is Pecorino, made from sheep’s milk. Parmigiano is made from cow’s milk, leave that for Northern pasta dishes.

My relatives in Sicily (and most likely in other Italian regions) boil the greens in quite a bit of salted water and once the greens are drained they reserve the water to cook the pasta.

The drained greens are sautéed in extra virgin olive oil, chilli and garlic. The vegetable water flavours the pasta and sometimes tinges that pasta green. It is a nice touch, but I prefer to sauté the cleaned greens without cooking them first. I like to concentrate the flavour of the vegetables and keep a little bit of crunch – not Italian at all.

Most of the time I add anchovies to the hot oil before adding the chilli and garlic. The anchovies dissolve easily in the hot oil before I add and sauté the chilli and garlic, and finally. Omit the salt if you are adding anchovies.

Cime cooked the same way are great as a side vegetable, so forget the cavolo nero, silverbeet, kale and spinach, try Cime instead.

There are other ways to cook Cime as an accompaniment to pasta. Popular is the addition of good pork and fennel Italian sausages, but most of the time I like to cook the Cime (with or without the pork sausages) with pulses – particularly chickpeas, cannellini or borlotti beans. With the pork sausages I tend to favour borlotti, they taste more meaty.

Sometimes I use feta instead of grated cheese. It is much creamier and definitely not Italian. One of the highlights of residing in a multicultural country is that one can mix and match without having a Italian looking over your shoulder.

I keep the feta in extra virgin olive oil and herbs in my fridge. Use tough herbs like Bay leaves and Thyme. Dried Oregano, fennel seeds, peppercorn or chilli flakes ate good but not soft herbs or fresh garlic… these oxidise and rot.

Red tomatoes are also a good addition. In winter tomatoes are out of season, so if you are not able to use fresh tomatoes one tin is sufficient – toss chopped tomatoes and their juice in a saucepan, add a glug of extra virgin olive oil, 1-2 garlic cloves some fresh basil (seems to be for sale all year round) or some oregano (fresh or dried), a little salt and reduce it as you would to make a tomato salsa to dress pasta. Add the tomato salsa to the sautéed Cime cooked with or without anchovy. If you are using pomodorini as I am in the photos below , you may prefer to just sauté the tomatoes. I rather like the explosion of flavour that pomodorini provide.

Leave the above sauce as it is or add a cup or so of chickpeas, cannellini or borlotti.

There is very little waste (if any) because the larger stems that can be tough can be stripped of their outer peel.

Whether served as a comforting pasta dish or as a humble side, Cime di rapa with their depth of flavour do it for me every time.

Other information and recipes about Cime di Rapa (also referred to in the plural as Cime di rape).

CIME DI RAPE (or Rapa) with pasta, anchovies and lemon peel

ONE OF MY FAVOURITE VEGETABLES Cime di Rape

PASTA with ‘NDUJA, CIME DI RAPA and PORK SAUSAGES

EDIBLE WEEDS: Orecchiette e Broccoletti Selvatici (and cime di rape)

CIME DI RAPE (A winter green)

AUTUMN PRODUCE- lemons and quinces, wild mushrooms and homemade pasta

Autumn Produce Returns to Victoria

The shift into cooler weather always brings my favourite autumn produce in Victoria. This week’s market haul was especially inspiring: vibrant cime di rapa, glossy artichokes, fennel bulbs, chicory, and beautifully firm heads of red radicchio—much sturdier than just two weeks ago.

Cime di Rapa with Italian Sausages

As soon as I saw the cime di rapa, I knew what dinner would be. I sautéed the greens with chilli-flavoured Italian pork sausages and tossed them through orecchiette with plenty of strong, salty pecorino. A classic, comforting Pugliese combination that never disappoints.

CD3FB839-9298-4B53-BD23-284EB591C581 — Cime Di Rapa

There were artichokes, fennel and even chicory for sale, and because of the colder weather the heads of red Radicchio seemed firmer than two weeks ago.

Fresh autumn produce from Victoria: chicory, radicchio, fennel and artichokes.

Lemons, Quinces and Autumn Baking

A dear friend dropped off a generous bag of lemons from her father’s tree—fresh, fragrant, and perfect for the quinces I still had from last week.

This time, I baked the quinces with honey and Tuaca, the golden-brown liqueur from Livorno made with brandy, citrus, vanilla and gentle spices. I added black peppercorns, cinnamon quills, star anise, a dash of vanilla, and slices of four large lemons.

The lemons caramelise into something like a crisp-edged marmalade: intensely flavoured and wonderfully sharp against the sweet quince. A modest splash of alcohol is enough, though a more generous pour would certainly be luxurious.

Yet again, I baked the quinces with different flavours. Honey as the sweetener and Tuaca from Livorno – this is a sweetish, golden brown liqueur, and the ingredients include brandy, citrus essences, vanilla, and other secret spices – probably ordinary simple cinnamon and nutmeg .

There was also a bit of water.

The baked quinces were fragrant, magnificent tasting and I enjoyed preparing them.

A Gift of Wild Pine Mushrooms

Another surprise was a delivery of saffron-coloured pine mushrooms (Lactarius deliciosus)—also called saffron milk caps—from friends in Red Hill. The small ones are beautiful left whole, while the larger mushrooms slice perfectly and become meaty and rich when cooked.

Holly our friends’ Cocker Spaniel, loves her photo being taken. She seized the opportunity for another photo session. She is a muse like photographer William Wegman’s photographic Weimaraner dogs.

Cooking the Pine Mushrooms

I cooked the mushrooms gently with garlic, parsley, sage, thyme, rosemary, a little nepitella, and a splash of white wine. The result was a deeply savoury sauce that paired beautifully with freshly made egg tagliatelle.

THE COOKING OF THE MUSHROOMS AND THE HOME MADE TAGLIATELLE

Homemade Pasta: Simple and Satisfying

Making pasta at home is easier than many people think—just 100g of flour per egg.

For two people (with a small portion leftover), I used 300g of durum wheat flour and three eggs:

Place the flour in a bowl and make a well.
Add eggs and a pinch of salt.
Bring the mixture together with your fingers.
Knead into a smooth dough.

You can also use a food processor—mix until the dough looks like breadcrumbs, then gather it into a ball with your hands.

I divide the dough into three pieces, wrap them, and rest them in the fridge for an hour. Rested dough passes much more easily through the pasta machine. Flatten slightly and roll several times before cutting into tagliatelle.

BVXWi%1KSKSCSZzhTkJCQA — Freshly rolled egg tagliatelle made with durum wheat flour.

JUST TO SHOW OFF

This week I also made a rustic pasta from rye flour, rolling it between sheets of baking paper and cutting it into simple strips. Earthy, quick, and very satisfying.

Very simple.

Related Recipes & Posts

Mushrooms and home made Pasta:

WILD MUSHROOMS, I have been foraging again

PASTA WITH MUSHROOMS – Pasta ai funghi

WILD MUSHROOMS – Saffron Coloured, Pine Mushrooms and Slippery Jacks

QUADRUCCI IN BRODO, Squares of home-made Pasta in Broth

GNUCCHITEDDI (Making small gnocchi shapes using my great grandmother’s device)

Pasta with cime di rapa (rape is plural):

ONE OF MY FAVOURITE VEGETABLES – Cime di Rape

PASTA with ‘NDUJA, CIME DI RAPA and PORK SAUSAGES

CIME DI RAPE (A winter green)

About Nepitella:

STUFFED BAKED MUSHROOMS with Nepitella

Quinces:

AUTUMN FRUIT and baked quinces

A Tale about QUINCES

Sicilian method of cooking pasta in the vegetable water

This post is about the Sicilian method of cooking pasta in the vegetable water.

MY SICILIAN RELATIVES

I have relatives who live in Sicily. Food and recipes bring people together and when I publish recipes on my blog, my Sicilian relatives get in touch.

My cousins who are still living have sons and daughters who are in their 40’s and 60’s. These younger cousins (even if they are in their 40’s and 60’s) use the internet and read the recipes that I publish on my blog. Some of them sometimes contact me through Facebook and sometimes they suggest variations to particular recipes. I very much appreciate this.

What Sicilians do

When I cook pasta with a green leafy vegetable, for example Cime di Rapa or Broccoli I sauté the vegetables without pre cooking them first. Sicilian culinary tradition is strong, even amongst the young.

Below are two comments made recently about cooking pasta in the same water that the leafy, winter, green vegetable (called Cime di Rapa/ Cime di Rape or Broccoli Rape) have been cooked in. on this occasion Valentina and Stefania contacted me.

Valentina lives in Augusta and is from my mother’s side of the family. Stefania, from my father’s side of the family lives in Ragusa. These young women have never met, but they now know each other through the recipes on my blog.

Here are the variations they have suggested:

Valentina

Marisa ti do la mia ricetta. Si fanno bollire le cimette ben pulite e si scolano, nell’acqua di cottura si fa cuocere la pasta (di solito orecchiette), nel frattempo si fa rosolare in olio extra vergine d’oliva un paio d ‘acciughe dissalate e le cimette e si fanno saltare in padella x qualche minuto …poi si unisce la pasta et voile’ la pasta è fatta!

Boil the Cime di Rapa in the same water that you will cook the pasta (usually orecchiette).

Add the cleaned vegetables to salted boiling water, cook and drain them. Return the vegetable water to the saucepan and use it to cook the pasta.

While the pasta is cooking and the vegetables are draining, heat some extra virgin olive oil in a frypan (large enough to hold the vegetables and the pasta).

Add a couple of finely chopped anchovies, then the green vegetables and sauté them for a few minutes. Add the drained pasta and the pasta is ready.

Stefania

Oltre alle acciughe (una ogni due persone, se sono grandi) aggiungi spicchi di aglio, peperoncino rosso. Salta la pasta e se vuoi aggiungi pan grattato.

As well as the anchovies (2-4), add cloves of garlic and red chillies to the hot oil. Add the green vegetables and the cooked pasta (and sauté them for a few minutes to mix the flavours).

Serve the pasta with fried breadcrumbs (that have been toasted in a frypan in a little extra virgin olive oil).

Both Valentina and Stefania cook the pasta in the same water that the vegetables have been cooked in. The same is done when cooking pasta with kohlrabi or cauliflower or broccoli as a dressing for pasta. Cooking the vegetables first and then using the vegetable water to cook the pasta is the common way in Sicily. This is how my mother cooked it as well.

Although I am familiar with this traditional Sicilian method, I prefer to sauté my vegetables raw rather than boiling them first (to preserve vitamins and their texture).

Pasta con the sarde or Pasta con la mollica are the only two recipes where I always cook the wild fennel in the water that will be re-used to cook the pasta. It flavours the pasta and also tints the pasta a shade of green.

Both of these pasta dishes are also presented with fried breadcrumbs.