Ways to Serve Dandelion Greens -- Harvest to Table

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Dandelion greens can be added to a lettuce salad to add some tang.

Young bright green dandelion greens can be served raw in salads. Mature dandelions are better cooked.

Spring is a prime time for tender, free-range dandelion greens.

Dandelion salad — Salad with dandelion leaves boiled chicken eggs and onion

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Dandelion serving suggestions

Dandelion leaves can be eaten raw or cooked.
Raw dandelion leaves are often added to salads. Dandelion’s bitter flavor blends well with strong-tasting oils and vinegar, such as hazelnut oil, olive oil, raspberry vinegar, or wine vinegar.
Serve dandelions in a warm vinaigrette, the heat takes away some of the bitterness and tenderizes the leaves.
Dandelion and bacon salad (a French tradition): Dice bacon and brown in a frying pan. Mix the dandelion leaves with a white wine vinaigrette. Add a tablespoon of vinegar to the diced bacon and stir, Pour the contents of the frying pan into the salad bowl. Add a sliced hard-boiled egg.
Dandelions can be braised with pork (either ham or bacon).
Dandelions can be prepared as a vegetable, in the same way as spinach.
Dandelion flowers can be marinated and used to make wine, and the roots can be used, like chicory root, as a substitute for coffee.

Dandelion cooking suggestions

Dandelions can be cooked like spinach.

How to prepare dandelions

Blanch dandelion leaves in boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes before preparing them to reduce the bitterness.

How to choose dandelion greens

The leaves of younger plants will be less bitter. If you pick your dandelion greens wild, do so before the plant flowers, usually from mid to late spring.

How to store dandelion

Dandelions are most flavorful fresh picked and are best used as soon as possible.
Store dandelion leaves in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator. They will keep for not more than 5 days.

Dandelion nutrition

Raw dandelion leaves are an excellent source of vitamin A and a good source of vitamin C and potassium.
Dandelion is known for its properties as a tonic and decongestant. It aids appetite and cleanses the system.

About dandelions

The dandelion is a perennial plant native to Europe, North Africa, central and northern Asia, and North America. It is a common plant that grow just about anywhere so it is often considered a weed.
The word dandelion comes from the French dents-de-lion (lion’s teeth) and refers to its serrated leaves.
The botanical name for dandelions is Taraxacum officinale.

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