What a glorious spring day! The sun is shining, and the weather is perfect for some backyard foraging. I think I’d better go outside and enjoy it while it lasts.
The stinging nettles aren’t quite as tall as I’d like for harvesting, but I see some salad burnet, chervil, and here it is– what I’ve been looking for: the French sorrel.
Yikes! Looks like all kinds of critters have been munching, pooping, and living in this dense cluster. I guess I missed my chance to harvest it for a creamed sorrel soup. Next year I’ll beat you to it but for now, enjoy the nutrients, little bugs! Get strong and go forth into the world to live your best life! And stay away from my strawberry patch!
Welp. No sorrel soup… but! Plentiful young dandelion greens are strewn about my yard! Let’s see… I’ve got some mushrooms in the fridge, some shallots, and lemon. Sounds like a meal to me!
How’s about some…
Sautéed Dandelion Greens with Mushrooms
Enjoy this dish as a tasty side with some potatoes and baked salmon, or at breakfast with toast and a fried egg, or just eat a bowl of it on it’s own like I just did!
Ingredients:
- 3 cups packed young dandelion leaves
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 3-4 cremini mushrooms
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp butter, divided
- pinch of red chili flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
- light squeeze of fresh lemon, plus a slice for garnish
Directions:
- Harvest the dandelion leaves, snipping not too close to the ground to avoid picking up dirt. Young greens are less bitter and tend to be more palatable. Harvest only dandelions you know haven’t been sprayed with herbicide (avoid parks or unfamiliar lawns).
- Prepare your greens by washing them thoroughly to remove dirt. Snip off any brown, withered parts.
- Over medium heat, heat 1 Tbsp butter, add shallots, and sauté until translucent and lightly browned. Add the mushrooms and garlic with an additional 1Tbsp butter (or olive oil if you prefer). Cook until mushrooms are tender, stirring constantly.
- Add the dandelion greens, pinch of salt and black pepper, red pepper flakes, and a quick drizzle of fresh lemon juice. Stir to combine. The greens will cook almost instantly and greatly reduce in volume.
- Serve it up and enjoy while its warm.
The cooked greens are almost the texture of spinach without the grittiness, and the lightly bitter flavor is balanced and complimented by the sweetness of the shallot, richness of the buttery mushrooms, and the brightness of the lemon.
This is where I gotta give my friend Sia a shout out because she was the one who turned me on to cooking dandelion greens in this super simple, but incredibly delicious way. We were discussing edible spring greens, I think last year, and she mentioned that her mom and grandmother who are Greek, prepare cooked dandelion greens, called “horta”, with a bit of olive oil and lemon juice.
I had been previously devising all kinds of ways to mask the bitterness of dandelions by cooking them in various creative, but more complicated ways, or burying them amidst more bland salad greens… but it’s almost as if the greens are meant to be eaten this way! The combination of the robust greens with lemon feels like an “Aha!” moment when it hits the tongue. It’s just too perfect, and the greens are honored this way– highlighted, not hidden.
People have been eating and making medicine from dandelions for ages… Probably as long as we’ve lived alongside them. It was a staple food source across Europe and Asia and is still a commercially cultivated green (and root, mostly for medicinal purposes). Why would people want to eat such a bitter food when there are more bland greens to slather with dressing? (That was sarcasm!)
They’re a free and abundant food! They are also incredibly nutritious, full of vitamins and minerals, and the bitter qualities of dandelion stimulate and aid digestion. Dandelions are a tonic for the liver and kidneys, and they have a mild diuretic action to help remove excess water from the body. Unlike other diuretics though, they are so full of potassium that they won’t deplete the body of it.
You know what, I’ll just write an entire blog post dedicated to dandelion because there is way too much to say here, and our friend Taraxacum officinale deserves a lot more time in the spotlight being showered with appreciation… Because quite unbelievably to me, this plant still gets a lot of hate.
Alrighty, well bon appétit my friends. If you try this recipe, or have a dandelion greens recipe you’d like to share, please leave a comment.
Hope you’re having a lovely spring so far!
Published by Tessa N. Klaren
Folk herbalist, gardener and bird nerd.View all posts by Tessa N. Klaren
