A cousin of cabbage and turnip (the mature version is already described in our pages), rapini as a sprout or microgreen offers the characteristic spicy-bitter blend of the Brassica family — small tender-green cotyledons marked with a purple dot at the base, lively mustardy flavour with the herbaceous bitterness typical of adult rapini. Crunchy and juicy as a sprout, tender as a microgreen.

Excellent in sandwiches (the healthy equivalent of an arugula leaf), Asian bowls, on cheese toasts, as a garnish on a pizza fresh from the oven, or mixed with other sprouts to give them character.

Like all Brassica sprouts, particularly rich in sulforaphane, a sulfur compound that studies associate with antioxidant and chemopreventive effects, particularly concentrated in 3-4 day sprouts.

• Soaking: not required (small seeds); optional 4-6 hours.
• Germination time: 2-4 days.
• Sprout harvest: 4-6 days after soaking begins.
• Microgreen harvest: 8-12 days after sowing.
• Yield: about 1 tsp of seeds produces a 20 × 20 cm tray of microgreens.
• Best uses: sandwiches, salads, garnishes on hot dishes.