Happy March, food & foraging friends!
When folks in my workshops say they are afraid to make a mistake foraging, I encourage them to start with one common, easy to identify plant. The dandelion is one nearly everyone knows and loves or hates. It is also one of the safest and most versatile, as all parts from root to flower are edible without special preparation, and has no known poisonous look-alikes.
The dandelion has long been maligned as the scourge of lawns, and yet the deep taproot this perennial puts down actually helps to aerate compacted soil and also pulls nutrients from the soil to makes them available for the grass and other plants. The taproot is surprisingly sweet and starchy — great roasted for tea or straight up eating!
The common dandelion Taraxacum officinale is just one of many species in the dandelion genus. While the common dandelion was intentionally brought to America by European settlers for food and medicine, the country already had a native species, the horned dandelion (Taraxacum ceratophorum). Japan has a gorgeous native white dandelion (Taraxacum albidum), in addition to various cultivars bred for beauty, while China has utilized dandelions in traditional medicine over 1,000 years.
Left/top: Dandelion greens are a versatile early spring edible, pictured here in a sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, tomato sauce and two ways on a pizza (pesto and sautéed).
Right/bottom: Dandelions are typically at their least bitter before flowering; the unopened flower buds, pickled, make great fake capers (bottom row). The greens are safe to eat raw, as seen here (top row) chiffonaded into a hearty salad and blended into a vegan pesto (pictured pre-blending).
Dandelion greens have a higher nutritional profile than spinach and some other greens, with one cup providing over the daily recommended allowance of Vitamin A; it is also a natural diuretic (hence one of its monikers in French, pissenlit, or bedwetter).
Yes, dandelion greens can be bitter enough to make your spine shiver. The key to harvesting dandelions before they get too bitter is to catch them after a quick growth spurt and before they have had time to bake in the sun (look for shady dandelion patches with pristine looking leaves – size doesn’t matter in this case, according to John Kallas, whose classic Wild Edible Plants has a very useful chapter on dandelions). Mixing dandelions with milder greens or pairing with other strong flavors and fats are other ways to tone down the perceived bitterness in this potent green.
So far this season I’ve used the greens in mashed potatoes, salads, pesto, pizza sauce, oven-roasted chips, smoothies, sauerkraut and more. I’ve also brewed the roots into a kombucha, and made “capers” with the flower buds, which are great in pasta or a potato salad.
Need more guidance and inspiration? Robin Kennedy’s free mini recipe compilation includes everything from dandelion mustard and jelly to dandelion root beer and burgers, while Kristina Seleshanko’s The Ultimate Dandelion Cookbook includes 100+ innovative recipes like dandelion stem noodles and dandelion root meat rub.
We are sure to encounter dandelions on my urban foraging walks this spring, which I’m happy to announce are back in session. I’ve got two freebies coming up in April and May and other paid offerings to be added soon — check out the links here for details!
Wildly yours,
April