Bedeviling Dandelions May Be a Delicious Dish

While recently ridding my yard of dandelions the old-fashioned, eco-friendly way (a big dull steak knife and a lot of bending over), it occurred to me:

Hey, you can eat these things.

And they’re everywhere.

And they’re free.

Even after tossing a good chunk of them in the yard waste bag, I had more than enough dandelion greens for a huge salad.

To minimize mess, I did some of the prep outside. I held each bunch in one hand, cut the root end off with my dull knife, then pulled any flower buds out from the other end. Then I dropped the trimmed greens into a colander.

Washing them with the hose atop a mesh outdoor table seems like it might be a good idea. But I took mine inside, rinsed them once under running water, swirled them around a sink full of cold water, then rinsed again as I pulled them out. A lot of dirt and little bits of grass settled to the bottom of the sink.

They got a spin in the salad spinner and then, time for a taste: slightly sweet at first, earthy and nutty next, then a bit bitter, like endive.

To counter the bitterness, I wanted a sweet dressing.

I grabbed the last tablespoon of ginger preserves (a sweet, peppery ginger jam with chunks of ginger in it) from the fridge, whisked in some white wine vinegar, some good extra virgin olive oil and a healthy pinch of sea salt.

That wasn’t quite sweet enough, so I added a bit of Fruit Sweet (made from pear nectar and pineapple syrup, but you could use corn syrup, agave nectar or pear nectar). Better.

I drizzled a bit over a plate full of dandelion greens. Then, for crunch and interest, since the greens were more tender than crisp, I sliced a d’Anjou pear very thinly and laid it atop the greens along with a sprinkling of roasted, salted sunflower seeds and another pinch of sea salt.

The nuts enhanced the greens’ earthy and nutty qualities, the pear and seeds added crunch, the sweetness of the dressing and fruit balanced the bitterness, and the ginger gave the whole thing an unusual and delicious peppery bite.

I imagine you could also go a more savory route, playing up the earthiness of the greens with mushrooms and bacon. If only I hadn’t already eaten all the good morels a mushroom-hunting friend gave me last week! That would have been a totally foraged meal.

I now find myself looking at the scraggly fringes of my yard with new appreciation:

What else is sprouting out there that I could eat?

Dandy Dandelion, Pear and Ginger Salad 4 to 6 cups dandelion greens, roots trimmed, any buds removed 1 tablespoon ginger (or other fruit) preserves 1 tablespoon Fruit Sweet (or other liquid sweetener) 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar 1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil sea salt to taste 1 d’Anjou or other pear, cored and thinly sliced 2 tablespoons roasted, salted sunflower nuts

Wash the dandelions in cold water, drain and dry well. (Use a salad spinner or clean, lint-free towels.)

Mix the next five ingredients in a small bowl (or shake in a small jelly jar). Taste and adjust seasoning.

Drizzle dressing over or toss with greens. Top with pear and nuts.

Makes two servings as an entree (with some good baguette), four as a starter.

Note: Don’t try this if you’ve recently applied chemicals to your lawn. And in any case, you’ll want to wash the greens very thoroughly before eating.

–Contact the writer: 444-1069, nichole.aksamit@owh.com