dandelion leaves 3 ways
As a follow up to my Wave column this week, I’m posting three dandelion recipes. If you have know idea what I’m talking about, pick up a copy of the paper or you can subscribe online to read the column. In short, I wrote about foraging for locally grown dandelion leaves. I’ll have the orginal column on the blog in a few days.
If you decide to try these recipes out, I would love to hear what you think of them, and see the pictures too!
Sautéed Dandelion Leaves over Angle Hair Pasta
Ingredients:
1 lb. angle hair pasta
1 garlic bulb, peeled and diced
1/2 olive oil (Colavita is the best)
1 cup shaved carrots
1 1/2 cup packed dandelion leaves
Salt, pepper and oregano to taste
Directions (serves 4):
- Thoroughly wash the dandelion leaves using a colander. Remove roots and flowers. Make sure the leaves you foraged for are young/small.
- Boil the water for the pasta. Add salt and a little oil to the water.
- While the water is boiling, start sautéing the garlic for about 5 minutes until it gets slightly brown. Only use 1/4 cup of the oil.
- Add in the carrots and dandelion leaves, cook on low for 5 minutes.
- Skim some water off the top of the pasta water, put it in your serving bowl. Strain the rest of the pasta and place into the bowl.
- Mix in cheese and add the rest of the olive oil. Top the pasta with the vegetable garlic mixture
Pan Seared Lemon Salmon with Dandelion Leaves
Ingredients (serves 2):
2 medium sized pieces of salmon
1 small bulb garlic
2 cups dandelion leaves
2 lemons
4 tbsp. butter
Pepper
Directions:
- Thoroughly wash dandelion leaves using a colander
- Chop garlic and sautéed in a frying pan until golden brown, remove
- In the same pan, sautéed dandelion leaves, add lemon juice and cook for 3 min. until wilted, remove.
- Add more butter in the pan, add a few garlic pieces and a bunch of dandelion leaves. Cook salmon on high for 5-7 minutes. Flip once so each side is crispy.
- Plate the salmon over the leaves, add garlic. Add more lemon to the salmon and a generous amount of pepper
- You can serve with mashed potatoes or rice.
Dandelion Gorgonzola Salad
Ingredients (serves 2):
2 cups dandelion leaves
Equal part red leave lettuce
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Cherry tomatoes halved
For the dressing:
1 cup olive oil
3/4 cup white vinegar
Juice of 2 large oranges
2 springs rosemary
3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Thoroughly wash dandelion leaves using a colander
- Chop red leaf lettuce
- Half cherry tomatoes
- Fix all ingredients on a large plate or in a bowl
Directions for the dressing:
- In a large jar poor in the vinegar
- Squeeze the juice of 2 oranges in the jar
- Peel garlic, no need to chop, add to jar
- Add the rosemary and salt and pepper
- Very slowly whisk in the oil. It’s good to let the dressing fuse for at least one day but you can use immediately if you wanted too
