Dandelion is known mostly as a seasonal plant, of which all its parts have been used in cooking and traditional medicine from ancient times. To many who are unfamiliar with the plant, the greens are many times considered an invasive weed in fields and gardens, but they are in fact edible and highly nutritious. As I’m not a gardener myself, nor a forager of wild greens, I’ve never tried them, until I recently found them at the store, and decided to buy a bunch.
My unhappy encounter with another highly nutritious green, the trendy kale, made me a bit skeptical as for the taste of these new greens, and I didn’t have my hopes too high about their flavor nor texture. However, in this case, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the greens, both when raw and cooked. The leaves have a fresh, slightly bitter taste, and they worked beautifully with different dishes, as you can see here.
All the dishes are quick and easy to assemble, and are a great tasty way to add greens to your diet. Try any and enjoy.
Notes:
* The greens can be quite sandy, so it’s important to wash them thoroughly. Check HERE for the easiest method of washing greens.
To cook dandelion greens:
Steaming the greens, rather than boiling and pouring off the water, keeps the nutrients in.
Chop a bunch of washed dandelion greens. Place in a large flat pot and add ½ cup water. Cover the pot and cook for about 4-5 minutes, on medium-high heat, until the greens soften. Uncover the pot and cook, mixing occasionally, until the water evaporates. The cooked greens can be kept in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 2-3 days.
Dandelion Greens Salad
The slight bitterness of the greens works well with the sweet-sour vinaigrette, the apple and the cheese and walnut.
The vinaigrette: in a small jar, combine ¼ cup cider vinegar, ¼ cup maple syrup, ¼ cup olive oil, 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp Dijon mustard and ¼ tsp freshly ground four peppers mix. Cover and shake vigorously. Taste and adjust seasoning. Keep at room temperature until needed.
The salad: in a large bowl, mix washed and dried dandelion greens, center part removed, with crumbled blue cheese, sliced crisp apple and roughly chopped walnuts. Add vinaigrette to taste, mix and serve immediately.
Toasted Bread with Tomatoes and Dandelion Greens
This is a take on a Spanish breakfast dish, which consists of toasted bread topped with grated tomatoes and Jamon, the Spanish equivalent of prosciutto.
In a small bowl, mix roughly chopped heirloom tomatoes with chopped washed and dried dandelion greens. Season with salt, freshly ground four peppers mix and olive oil. Serve over toasted rolls or bread, and top with Jamon or Prosciutto.
Eggs cooked with Tomatoes and Dandelion Greens
A great dish for breakfast or brunch.
In a medium pan over medium-high heat, sauté chopped garlic in a bit of olive oil. Add chopped heirloom tomato and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Mix and cook for a couple of minutes, until the tomatoes are soft. Add a handful of chopped washed dandelion greens, cover the pan and cook until they wilt. Crack an egg over, cover the pan again and cook until it’s done according to your liking. Serve as is, or with crumbled Feta cheese on top.
Dandelion Greens Burger
For best results, I highly recommend grinding or choping the meat at home.
For 2 burgers: mix 1 chopped steak (about 9 oz/255 grams) with ½ cup cooked dandelion greens (see above). Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and mix well. Create 2 flat patties from the mix. Fry on both sides in a lightly oiled pan, over medium-high heat. Lightly toast English muffins (I used whole wheat), or hamburger buns, and spread with mayonnaise and mustard. Add fresh dandelion greens, the fried patties and sliced tomatoes, and serve immediately.
Lemony Pasta with Chicken and Dandelion Greens
Quick and easy light dinner.
Precook 1 cup fussily pasta, according the instructions on the box, and set aside.
In a large pan, over medium-high heat, mix 1 Tbs butter, 1 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt, ¼ tsp freshly ground pepper and 2 chopped small garlic cloves. Sauté until the garlic is soft and fragrant. Add 1 medium chicken breast, cut into long strips, and fry gently on both sides. Add 1 cup cooked dandelion greens (see above), juice of 1 medium lemon, chopped lemon zest and 1 tsp Harissa paste. Mix, add the cooked pasta, and cook for 1-2 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately, with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Wow! Wonderful ideas to use these green leaf vegetable, particularly I like the idea of using them while making burger. Thanks much for the inspiration.
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Thank you Megala, I’m glad you liked the recipes. The burger turned out to be a huge success. These leaves are so tasty, I keep experimenting with them. 🙂
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It is so nice to play with nutritious ingredients and present a delicious a dish. 🙂
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So true! 🙂
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A great contribution to a completely unnoticed plant. She did not deserve this shadowy existence.
Best Wishes
Balle
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Thank you Balle, you’r so right. But it’s getting new recognition lately.
Have a great week! 🙂
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That’s a good thing.
You also a successful week
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Looks great! Love anything green! Collards are my favorite. As much as I love broccoli, I think collards are better!
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Thank you Kendall, I’m glad you liked the recipes. Collard greens are indeed tasty, though I have to admit I like these Dandelion greens even better! 🙂
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I haven’t had Dandelion greens in a long time. I need to get some.
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I’ve always wanted to try dandelion greens, but can’t because of the lawn service we use. 🌿🌱🍃
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Maybe you can get them at the store, like I did? It seems the cultivated form is getting more popular these days.
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Good point. I’ll check it out. 👏
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Many years ago my hubby made dandelion wine – was awful. I’m sure your recipes are much better 🙂
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lol I sure hope so Judi! 🙂
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I have never tried dandelion greens, Ronit, but your recipes are so tempting – I want to find them and try both chicken and burgers.
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Thank you Dolly, I’m glad you liked the recipes. If you’re into slightly bitter greens, I’m sure you’ll enjoy these. It will be interesting to see your versions. 🙂
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First I have to find them, of course…
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Ronit, what a fine job of showing your readers how versatile dandelion greens are. We like them in salads this time of the year as they’re very springy. But, your Eggs cooked with Tomatoes and Dandelion Greens is a new one for me to try as it sounds yummy. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you Ron, I’m glad you liked the recipes. I didn’t expect to like these leaves, so it was a pleasant surprise. It was enjoyably to experiment with them. I’m now wondering about the differences between the cultivated and the wild ones. Maybe next year I’ll look for a place to find them in the wild. 🙂
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I’m looking forward to trying some of these recipes. I’m into foraging – and the wild dandelions are currently at the perfect stage for using in recipes.
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Thank you Sheryl, I’m glad you liked the recipe. I was under the impression the wild dandelion season is over by now. but am glad to hear it’s not. It will be interesting to see your versions. I still need to try yours, with ham or bacon. I will probably choose bacon.:)
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Location affects the season for plants like dandelion. I live pretty far north – and wild dandelions are still in season.
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I’ve never had dandelion greens but I know I would like them because I like better greens like broccoli rabe and mustard greens. You’ve certainly shared some great ideas on how to use them…thank you.
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Thank you Karen, I’m glad you liked the recipes. If you like bitter greens, I’m sure you’ll enjoy these. They have lovely taste and texture.
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This greens are something interesting to me… Looks freaking good though👍
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Thank you Jyo, I’m glad you liked the recipes. It was fun to experiment with a new type of greens. 🙂
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I love them! And now ( due to a change in farming practices if you see what I mean), the meadows are covered with them. Best eating them from a land that hasn’t been sprayed at all. You sure did them justice!
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Thank you Franck, I’m glad you liked the recipes. I enjoyed experimenting with this new (to me) type of greens. You’re lucky to be able to get them so fresh. I’m sure they taste much better than the ones I got at the store. 🙂
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I have always wanted to do a post on dandelion greens! Bravo!! I love all of these ideas. They say the best greens are the ones that grow along the edge of the garden, for what it’s worth!
Mollie
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Thank you Mollie, I’m glad you liked the recipes. Living in city, I don’t have a garden to get these tasty greens from, so I was glad to find them at the store. 🙂
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I’ll have to try this dandelion green. I’ve heard of it. The salad looks tasty!
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Thank you Joanne, I’m glad you liked the recipes. Hope you’ll be able to find the greens, but if not, the salad can also be made with arugula leaves. 🙂
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Very nice ideas to use “pest plants” 🙂
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Thank you, I’m glad you liked the recipes. Maybe I’d also look at these greens differently if I was a gardener… 🙂
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I just found this blog, I really like it!
I often use dandelion in the kitchen. It’s hard to find them in stores, mostly on the meadow in the garden.
Thank you for this recipe, I am glad that I will try out a new method of preparation.
Greetings from Croatia!
(Sorry for errors, I use google translate)
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Thank you Zeza, and welcome! Google translate did a good job. 🙂
I’m glad you liked the recipes. I can sometimes find dandelion greens at the store, but if you can get them from the garden, that’s even a better option. Hope you’ll enjoy the dishes.
Best wishes from NY! 🙂
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I added your blog to my Blog Selection. Hope it’s okay?
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Absolutely! 🙂
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This post is a great resource of so many dishes with dandelion greens .wonderful to learn about it and the recipes.
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Thank you Nisha, I’m glad you liked the recipes. It was fun to experiment with this new (for me) type of greens. 🙂
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Wow, these sound delicious! I think my dad used to eat dandelion greens growing up. I’m sure I would love these if I had the time to make them. PS: I do love kale 🙂
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Thank you Lisa, I’m glad you liked the recipes. Kale has lots of nutritious advantages, so you’re lucky you’re able to enjoy it as well! 🙂
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