Introducing: raabs!

“I haven’t seen greens at the farmer’s market for weeks — and now suddenly all my favorite farmers are proclaiming the deliciousness of this raab stuff. But what is raab? And how to I eat it?”

First, what are raabs?

Raabs are harbingers of springtime in the Northwest. When the weather starts to warm, plants in the brassica family (which includes kales, cabbages, Brussels sprouts, etc.) send stalks of flowers up to the sky. These structures are called “raabs.”

Why should I love raabs?

Raabs are tender and sweet, because brassica plants produce sugar as anti-freeze during the winter.

Raabs are fully edible, flowers and all.

How can I eat raabs?

You can eat raabs raw or cooked, and every part is edible — that includes the stalks, the leaves, and the flowers too! Chop your raabs raw into salads, or lightly steam a handful to let the tender texture and the sweetness shine. Drizzle oil on them and briefly grill or broil them. Use them any way you might use kale or asparagus.

Why should I eat raabs immediately?

Raabs are only around for a short time in the spring. As soon as the raab flowers open, we must disk the plants into the ground so they don’t cross-pollinate with any of our seed crops. Also, we need to prep the soil as soon as we can for the next round of crops.

Raabs can be important to farmers because selling them provides the farm with income in the spring, when we have very little else to sell. At the same time, we have a lot of costs in the spring, as we prep our soil, start seeds, transplant seedlings, and repair broken equipment. We love raabs for many reasons!

Let’s take a look at some examples.

Lacinato kale raab: Kale raabs tend to look like baby versions of their grownup counterparts. In this lacinato kale raab, the little leaves are bumpy and textured like normal lacinato kale. In this bunch, the flower heads are only just starting to emerge.

Green kale raab: the leaves and flowers are so tender, and the stalks are super-sweet.

Red kale raab: Here’s a raab that will add gorgeous color to a salad or side dish.

Red Russian kale raab: This tender kale produces delicate baby leaves with its flowering stalks.

Red cabbage raab: Cabbage raab leaves tend to be rounded and spoon-shaped.

Green cabbage raab: It can be hard to tell green cabbage raab apart from collard raab and Brussels sprout raab, but they’re all worth trying!

Savoy cabbage raab: Its little round leaves look a bit like small collard leaves with a lacinato-like texture.

Collard raab: If the leaves on your collard raab are large enough, they start to look like their grown-up versions, just smaller.

Rutabaga raab can be a little spicy when eaten raw, just like arugula raab — which are both excellent when chopped into salads.

Enjoy all the varieties of raabs before they’re gone!

Green kale raab, Nash’s red kale raab, and collard raab are just a few of the many sweet and tender varieties of raab. Get to know them all!

Raab is what we call the tender new shoots that make their appearance every spring from overwintered brassicae crops like kale, arugula, Brussels sprouts, collards, mustards and cabbage. What we call “raab” is different from broccoli rabe, which is actually a cross between broccoli and turnip.

If we were to let the raab continue to grow, it would eventually produce seed heads by summer, but the stems would be woody and inedible. During these few short spring weeks when raab is tender and sweet, it pours its energy into the flowering tops, giving them an extra boost of nutrients.

Raabs are rich sources of fiber, vegetable protein, omega-3s, anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds, B-complex vitamins, and unique phytonutrients called glucosinolates. Glucosinolates account for the much-studied anti-cancer properties of this family of vegetables.

These succulent veggie tops are easy to prepare and delicious as a side dish or cut up raw in salads. Don’t shy away from eating the whole thing.

A very simple and easy to prepare any kind of raab is to cut it into bite-sized pieces, lightly sauté it in olive oil with some chopped garlic and salt and pepper. You could also crumble some bacon on top, or sprinkle some chili flakes on it.