Harvesting Dandelions
It’s dandelion harvesting time again! Whoo hoo.
Normally, by the time I begin harvesting dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) the flower buds are already on the plants. Not this year. The leaves don’t taste quite so bitter when I pick the plants before the flowers bud, so I’m making a special effort to get them early this year. I’m going on the prowl for these little babies beginning today.
Thinking about the task as a harvest—and actually eating the leaves I pick—makes the task slighter more rewarding than it would be if the idea were simply to make my lawn look nicer. Most years, I begin the task on a rainy day. Again, not this year! Yippee!
The key to enjoying this activity during this time of the year is to have a great recipe.
For some ideas about ways to eat them, consult Euell Gibbons’ 1962 book “Stalking the Wild Asparagus.” The classic would make an ideal mothers’ day gift for a gardening mom. See my link below if you want to order it!
Gibbons recommends six different ways to eat the plant.
- This year, I’m hoping to finally try Gibbons’ dandelion crown salad and
- boiled unopened flower heads recipes. I’ve never been able to try them before because they both require a much earlier harvest than I usually manage.
- Roasted ground roots made into a coffee-like beverage has never appealed to me, because I don’t like coffee much, but I might try it anyway just for the heck of it.
- I’ve also never bothered either to harvest the roots and peel them to serve boiled or
- fried as a vegetable and that’s not likely to change, since the plants I harvest are usually too small.
- I’ve never bothered to gather the bright flowers and make wine either, although that’s also something that appeals to me. We’ll see.
My definite favourite recipe is wilted greens fried with garlic and bacon with a mustard sauce. This was recommended by my PWAC colleague and buddy, Steve Pitt, who posted the recipe on a list serve a few years ago. I’ve revised it slightly, and it still tastes great. It’s also very good if you replace the bacon grease with vegabutter and a whole jar of capers for my vegan friends.
Hope you like it as much as I do.
Wilted Dandelion Salad with Bacon
- 6 strips bacon—cut into pieces (or a tablespoon of vegebutter and a whole jar of capers if you don’t eat meat)
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 ½ tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 6 cups dandelion greens, rinsed and dried
- 3 oz feta cheese
- ½ cup green olives
Fry the bacon until crisp. Put it into a steel salad bowl.
Pour off extra bacon fat, leaving just enough to cook the greens in.
Pour in the vinegar and heat to scrape the pan.
(Or if you prefer, just heat the pan and add a full tablespoon of vegabutter.)
Add Dijon, honey and olive oil to make a sauce.
Add the greens and cook until they wilt. Toss everything together and serve.
Stalking the Wild Asparagus
Cooking
Alan C Hood & Company
January 1, 1962
303
An imaginative approach to cooking, offering numerous recipes for main dishes and accompaniments made from wild berries, roots, nuts, and leaves
