broccoli rabe

noun

-ˌräb 

variants or less commonly broccoli raab

-ˌräb 

-ˌrab

or broccoli rab

-ˌräb 

-ˌrab

: a garden brassica (Brassica rapa ruvo) that is related to the turnip and produces edible leafy branching stalks and compact clusters of yellow florets

called also rapini

Examples of broccoli rabe in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Other choices include orecchiette with sausage, broccoli rabe, Fresno chili and Parmigiano and pappardelle verde with veal Bolognese, a white Bolognese sauce. —Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 18 Feb. 2025

The Angus rib-eye will accompany carrots, broccoli rabe, red wine truffle jus and potato gratin. —Justin Gest, Newsweek, 20 Jan. 2025

The Italian sandwich is made with 14-hour roasted pork, broccoli rabe and provolone cheese. —Kaitlyn Rosati, New York Daily News, 11 Dec. 2024

The Neapolitan-style pie is topped with tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, broccoli rabe and black olives. —Sonal Dutt, Peoplemag, 26 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

regularization (conformed to broccoli) of any of various southern Italian dialect forms, such as Neapolitan vruoccole de rapa, literally, "flower stalks of the turnip"

Note: The spellings rabe, raab reflect English perceptions of a lenis stop and reduced or absent vowel in the southern Italian forms.

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for broccoli rabe

• astrolabe
• babe
• gabe