For cooking, my favorite time of year on a homestead is definitely Summer and Fall. This is the time when the garden is producing like crazy, and I have more fresh produce than I know what to do with. The hardest time of year is the end of Winter into early Spring. This is when I have usually used up most of my canned, frozen, and stored produce. And, it is still too cold for even the early crops to be up yet. I even sometimes resort to buying some frozen veggies from the store (shocking I know – homesteading is supposed to be perfect, right?). But, around the beginning of April, a solution shows up in our backyard. Dandelions are delicious, nutritious, and simple to use. I have developed a very easy way to pick and cook Dandelion Greens. And, they end up being a staple in our spring diet.
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How to Pick Dandelion Greens
I keep an inexpensive knife in my gardening basket specifically for this purpose. You want a strong blade, and keep it sharpened. Find a large, healthy looking bunch of dandelions. Gather the leaves up into a clump and pull them to the side so the base of the plant is exposed. Then, insert your knife into the root system, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch below the soil level. Cut cleanly through the root, and pull the plant away as you do so. This keeps the plant intact as a whole and easier to deal with. Continue until you have as much as you want. Remember that they drastically decrease in size once they have been wilted, so make sure you pick enough.
How to Prep Dandelion Greens for Cooking
Use some kitchen shears to separate the clean leaves and flowers from the root. I usually trim it right where the stem turns from white to green. Rinse the leaves, flowers, and buds, and do a quick check through them to make sure you did not pick up any bugs. Slugs are notorious for feasting on tender dandelion greens, and then hanging onto them all the way to the skillet. I am sure Slugs are very nutritious, but they are not my idea of a good protein addition.
I know that some people only collect dandelion leaves, and shy away from the flowers. But, I find the flowers are just as delicious, and even more tender than the leaves are at that stage of the plant’s development. Plus, they add a fun pop of color and a slightly different nutrition profile. Just keep in mind, that once the plant has flowered, it will have a naturally more intense flavor than the young plants do before they flower. That is why seasoning is so important – more on that below.
How to Cook Dandelion Greens
A stainless steel pan with a lid will work well. I prefer to use a stainless skillet with a glass lid, so that I can watch the dandelions cook without releasing any of the steam. Put your dandelions in the pan. Feel free to pack them in tightly because they will rapidly wilt and leave you with plenty of extra space. Add about 1/2 inch of water in the bottom of a skillet or 1 inch in the bottom of a pot. Put the lid on, and turn the burner on a low simmer. Allow it to simmer until the lower half of the greens are wilted. Remove the lid and stir the greens. As you stir, the rest of the greens will quickly wilt as soon as the touch the hot water. Once everything is wilted, turn the heat off.
Seasoning Dandelion Greens
Dandelion Greens do well with a variety of seasoning styles. In fact, you can put almost anything on them. But, here are some of my favorites:
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Sea Salt
- Apple Cider Vinegar and Sea Salt (probably my first pick)
- Any Salad Dressing (but, Italian is probably my favorite)
- Oil and Vinegar
- Or even plain
My toddler really enjoys Dandelion Greens just like the rest of us do. But, he sometimes has difficulty chewing the larger leaves. So, I will usually chop them with a hand chopper or snip them with kitchen scissors. I will cut them into about 1/2 inch pieces. Then, he will either eat them just like that, or I will mix them into whatever else he is having for that meal.
Dandelion Greens go well with most meals as a side dish. They seem to pair especially well with red meat and red sauce dishes. So, one of my favorite spring meals is my Sausage Lasagna with Dandelion Greens, homemade pickles, and a glass of wine.
An Important Note on Safety:
While Dandelion Greens are a great, sustainable backyard food source, they are instances when they are not safe. They are not safe to eat if you spray chemicals on your yard, or if your yard is in an area that collects runoff that could be contaminated. We do not spray anything on our yard that is not organic and food grade (things like Diatomaceous Earth are what we typically use). So, I have always felt confident consuming our dandelions.
Nutrition:
So, if you are going to go through all the trouble to learn the easy way to pick and cook dandelion greens, I am sure you already know they are healthy.
They contain fiber, vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, calcium, iron, and Manganese (and other things in smaller amounts). They also have about 3x the protein content that is found in lettuce.
There have been a number of studies that demonstrate other possible health benefits, including antioxidants, lowering cholesterol, regulating blood sugar, reducing inflammation, aiding in weight loss, boosting the immune system, and easing digestion. Check out this article for more detailed information on these studies.
YouTube Video: The Easy Way to Pick and Cook Dandelion Greens
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