Dandelion Recipes

[2moretrees]

I was looking out at my lawn today and noticing that it is full of dandelions. I know that I need to weed them out, but as I was staring, I remember a friend once telling me that dandelions are edible.

Does anyone use dandelions in their cooking or have any recipes that they have used before? Do they taste good? I have plenty if I can find any good recipes.

[SeeAPenny]

In the future, consider cooking the greens. Once they are in flower, it's too late to harvest them, as they will be very, very bitter to eat (in that case, wait until fall after the first frost to pick them-- the bitterness will have decreased). Dandelion greens (leaves) are very nutritious -- and good chopped fresh in salads, but I particularly like them paired with lentils cooked in lentil soup....

As for the flowers, I do like dandelion jelly, and try to make it every year. It's a little bit labor intensive preparing the blossoms (you have to remove all of the green 'caps')-- but they make a gorgeous, sunny yellow jelly (or syrup). Looks like liquid gold. Just google 'dandelion jelly' -- all sorts of recipes will come up....

[SeeAPenny]

Oh, and although I have never personally made it (bet it's really pretty though - very yellow), let's not forget Dandelion Wine ...!

[ggbwg]

here's a few recipes i have found.
Frittered blossoms
Pick fully opened blossoms, the bigger the better. Trim stems very close to the heads. Soak in cold salt water for two or three hours. Rinse under cold running water and drain.

You'll need:

* One inch of oil in heavy pan
* 1 and 1/2 cups of finely crushed cracker crumbs

Make an egg batter:

* 2 tablespoons of milk
* 1 egg
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon parsley
* 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese

Roll drained blossoms in cracker crumbs, then in the egg batter, then cracker crumbs again. Fry in hot oil until golden brown, drain and serve warm. These taste a little like mushrooms.

Boiled buds
Be careful that you get unopened buds, because once the flowers have opened and closed again, they begin to make seed "parachutes." Pinch the buds off very close to the stem.

When you have picked a cup or so, put them in cold water with a couple of teaspoons of salt for ten or fifteen minutes. Rinse well, lifting the buds from the water. Start in cold water in a covered pan and bring them to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain excess liquid and serve with butter and salt.

Dandelion buds are diuretic. It's best not to take tea, coffee, or any other diuretic food or beverage at the same meal.

Jelly
This golden clear, delicate tasting jelly is glorious with biscuits and gravy on the first snowy morning of the year.

You'll need:

* Quart of fresh, bright dandelion flowers
* 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
* 5 1/2 cups of sugar
* 1 package (1 3/4 oz) powdered pectin
* paraffin

Using enamel or stainless steel pan, boil the flowers in 2 quarts of water for 3 to 5 minutes, cool, and strain, pressing the liquid out of the flowers gently. Measure 3 cups of the liquid, add the lemon juice and pectin. Put into a deep jelly kettle and bring to a boil, then add sugar and stir to mix well. Stir and boil for 2 1/2 minutes, or until mixture sheets from a wooden spoon, pour into jelly glasses and seal with melted paraffin when cool .

Dandelion "Coffee"
This really isn't coffee, but it's an interesting hot drink that's easy to make once you've dug the dandelion roots. Scrub the roots well and trim away broken ends and hair roots. Place in a shallow baking pan and bake at 250 - 275 degrees until lightly browned. Cool and grate, grind or put them in a cloth and crush with a hammer.

Pour a cup of boiling water over a scant tablespoon of the crushed root. Let it set for a few minutes, then strain. Add honey, sugar and/or lemon.

Also i know it use to be used to make some medicine. I don;t know anything about that though.