What do you with dandelion greens? You make a salad of course. Watch our video to find out how to identify and forage for dandelion in your yard, and make a great salad. If you are looking for edible plants in your yard, make sure the yard hasn’t been treated with herbicides or other things that are bad for you to ingest. Check out our other foraging videos here.
How To Find and Prepare Dandelion Greens
Wild Greens are abundant if you live in an area with grassy weedy places. They grow, we eat them. Things like mustard grow wild, wild onions, dandelion, purslane, burdock, all sorts. What I like about dandelion is it is ubiquitous and abundant, and it grows all summer. It is said that the dandelion greens are more bitter after the dandelion flower have bloomed, but my personal experience has been mixed. It is true the older the leaf, the more bitter it will be.
I do suggest buying at least one foraging plant identification book, I’m a big fan of Leda Meredith’s Foraging Books, she also has regional foraging books out as well. A second book you might consider is Joy Of Foraging.
Follow this simple dandelion greens recipe, and all will be great. It uses items you probably have in your fridge.
Dandelion Salad Recipe makes 2 salads
1 bunch of dandelion, about a large handful, tap root and flower stems removed, washed and dried.
2 strips of thick cut bacon
balsamic vinegar
2 eggs, poached for 3 minutes
1 avocado
Cook the bacon to crisp
While the bacon is cooking arrange the dandelion in two salad bowls or plates.
Cut the avocado in half, core and add to the bowls
Add the poached egg on top of the greens,
Cut the bacon into small pieces, spread over the salad
Pour about a half teaspoon of the bacon grease from the pan over each bowl.
Serve as soon as possible.
Now on to foraging for Lambsquarters!
Thomas Kozak
Very cool. Always heard you could eat dandelions but never knew for shure, thanks.
Also, what video editing software do you use?
Doris Meusburger
Hi, I am from Austria and very interested in your interesting videos and all the cool stuff you are doing.
Unfortunately I am not very handy with machines and all that stuff, that´s why I am always astonished when I watch your handycraft videos! Please provide more stuff one can make in and for the garden. Thanks.
Dandelions also grow here in Austria – lots of them ! They start to bloom right now. We use the green (before the blossom is growing) also for salads, the blossom is used for making honey out of it (my mum does that) and the stuff which is under the ground you can also use and make things out of it. What exactly I would have to investigate but I heard lately that you can also make tea out of dandelions.
Take care and continue !
Thanks. Doris from Austria
Bruce
I’m going to try this on next days off. The dandelions are growing like crazy. While my wife doesn’t see them as flowers like I do, I do see some enjoyment in taking the leaves of a weed and consuming them. Bleu cheese is my favorite salad topping with a vinegar and oil dressing.
The first lawn mowing has been completed! Yes, I love mowing lawn. The gold finches are starting to turn yellow and I’m anxiously awaiting the first Baltimore Oriole. The oranges and grape jelly are already out for them. Love the change of seasons.
Great show. Btw, I changed my lawn mower oil after watching your video of lawn mower maintenance. Now the oil is so clean it’s hard to see the oil level on the dipstick. Thanks for the info.
Bruce
Eric Gunnar Rochow
great to hear Doris, yes you can make a tea from dandelion. there are many videos here on the site, you can click on the video tab at the top of the home page. thx, eric.
Eric Gunnar Rochow
We use final cut, but you can use most any software to edit like we do. we don’t do any special effects, just simple cuts.
Jacqueline
My kids are always up to try new food combinations and they were excited to eat dandelion salad. We bought it local and organic at a grocery store and made it exactly like you did in your video. It was a hands down sweep it (we always vote on new recipes either “keep it” or “sweep It”). I’m not sure if we got a bad batch but the dandelions were so bitter that even I couldn’t stomach it. The dressing and bacon were delicious and we’ll try it on romaine next time. Always fun to try something new!