Dandelion Salads

Dandelions havee the following nutrients and vitamins: biotin, calcium, choline, fats, gluten, iron, linolenic acid, magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, B1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 12, E, P, zinc, A, and C. Does it sound like the label on a vitamin bottle? Well, it really is a wild and wonderful weed! In China it is called huang-hua-tii-ting and is considered one of the six most important herbs in Chinese medicine. It is a gross understatement to say it is worth eating in season.

Pick leaves before the flower buds form for a less bitter tasting dandelion. They can also be blanched and frozen for later use. Those grown in cold weather and in the shade are less bitter.

Dandelion Salad

Most older recipes for Dandelion Greens Salad add a lot of sugar. Probably to counter the bitterness of the greens. I have not tried this recipe, but I would start by adding much less sugar, and perhaps vinegar. The recipe to the right uses 2 Tbsp. of honey to 1/4 cup vinegar. Taste it and then add more if you want.

Otherwise, the dressing looks good and sounds like it would complement the dandelion greens well.

2 qts dandelion greens
1/4 lb bacon, diced

Dressing:
2 eggs
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c water
1/2 c vinegar
sliced, hard-boiled eggs

Wash and pick over the dandelions, cut fine.

Fry the bacon until crisp.

Beat eggs, add sugar, water and vinegar. Stir this mixture with the hot, fried bacon. Stir over low heat until the dressing thickens. (If dressing is too sweet, add vinegar; if too sour, add sugar.) Then pour over the dandelions.

Mix well, garnish with hard-boiled eggs.

Endive, lettuce, poke shoots, or any kind of greens may be substituted for dandelions.

*Wilted Dandelion Salad

Dandelion leaves, flowers, stems and roots are all edible if you have an organic yard! The greens are filled with nutrients and vitamins and can be prepared as you would spinach.

Brian and I are quite fond of this salad in spring. I'm not sure what the exact measurements are of the vinegar, mustard and honey that we use. Go by taste; you are aiming for a nice honey mustard vinaigrette taste. You should also be able to taste a bit of the bacon grease and the vinegar. I wasn't quite happy with the recipe below when we first made it; the proportions just need adjusting. The first time we tried it, it was way too sweet. The second time we reduced the amount of mustard and honey adding them and the vinegar to taste. It was delicious.

1/2 pound of bacon                                   
1/4 cup balsamic or cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (or less)             
2 tablespoons honey (too much, try 1 tsp.)                             
salt and pepper to taste
3 ounces of goat cheese, crumbled                 
8 cups young dandelion leaves, rinsed and dried
thinly sliced raw onion

Fry bacon in skillet until crisp, drain on paper towels, crumble. Pour off bacon fat leaving leaving behind 1/3 cup in the skillet.

Put vinegar, mustard and honey in the skillet mixing with a whisk. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keep this dressing warm.

When ready to serve, top the greens with bacon, cheese and raw onion in a bowl. Pour the warm dressing over greens and serve.

Yield: 4-6 servings