Cime di rapa, turnip greens—also called rapini or broccoli rabe—are the most representative vegetables of the Apulian winter, piled on the market stalls and dinner tables of this Southern Italian region.
They are the protagonists of a regional dish, orecchiette con le cime di rapa. The flowers and the most tender leaves are boiled along with fresh orecchiette, the local, ear-shaped pasta made just with semolina flour and water, and then tossed in an anchovy and garlic-infused olive oil, spiced with chile. Apulian olive oil is usually quite bitter, a perfect complement to the bitter greens.
