Dandelion pesto recipe

Our little Segurian courtyard is filled with dandelions, no flowers yet, just the lovely little leaves. Usually I weed the courtyard, making way for the bright green moss that I love. It grows in the shade underneath the dandelions and sparkles in the sunlight when exposed. 

This week however, I decided to do a little reading on the ever present dandelion greens. It turns out dandelion greens are very nutritious. They have concentrations of beta-carotene than carrots, and more iron and calcium than spinach. By eating, as opposed to composting this ubiquitous little weed, you also get vitamins B-1, B-2, B-5, B-6, B-12, C, E, P, and D, biotin, inositol, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and zinc.

Worth a try I guess! Apparently the term dandelion comes from the old French of “dent-de-lion” lions tooth, after the saw-toothed shape of the dandelion leaf. I picked a couple of large handfuls of the smaller leaves – these are less bitter that the larger leaves, and set about making pesto. The pesto was quite bitter, but still made a tastier dip than anything store bought, and was especially good smeared in the base of vegetable tarts, and mixed with a little cream fraiche in pasta dishes.

Dandelion leaves are tougher than basil leaves, which can be mixed nicely into pesto by chopping and then pummelling with a mortar and pestle. I used a hand blender to chop and blend the leaves together. If you use a hand blender be aware that leaves may collect in the blade. This happened to me and I (incredibly stupidly) attempted to free them, blending my finger as a result... a quick, painful trip to the pharmacie ensued. If you do need to clear the blade be sure to turn the power off.

Here’s the recipe, I hope you like it.

Recipe:

Three handfuls of young washed and chopped dandelion leaves

Half a cup grated parmesan cheese

!/4 cup olive oil

Sea salt

Step One: In a large mixing bowl place the dandelion leaves, parmesan cheese and half of the olive oil. Mix with a hand blender. This will take a while as the leaves are slightly tough. Slowly add the remainder of the olive oil and salt to taste. The finished consistency should be smooth and bright green.  

Dandelion Syrup Recipe

Segur le Chateau sits in a deep valley, on the edge of the L’Auvezere. Approaching the village, from any direction, one drives through fields and fields, edged with deep green woodlands. The bright green fields are populated by Limousin cattle, a hefty caramel breed, prized for their quality beef. Among the fields and the wooded areas, are literally hundreds of apple orchards. In April, the apple trees lack leaves, but instead are adorned with delicate pink and white apple blossoms. The stout trees, standing in deliberate parallel rows, glistening in the sunshine, seem to be showing off their flowery jewels.  

In April, many of the cattle fields are carpeted with dandelions. The green grass forms a background to the yellow seas of Spring. Entire fields are filled with these ubiquitous plants smiling at the sun with their bright yellow heads.  The cattle lay contentedly among the flowers, presumably after goring on the flowery feast before them.

Because that’s the thing about dandelions, although often thought as a pretty pest, the entire plant is edible and very nutritious. According to an aromatherapy website (xxx), dandelions boast the following health benefits, they: improves gastrointestinal health; cleanses the skin and prevent acne; can prevent or lower high blood pressure; improve liver health; and help control or prevent diabetes.

So this is my first post using dandelions. Tomorrow I’ll be posting about dandelion pesto, but today,  dandelion syrup, a dandelion flower sugar syrup that we’ve been adding to mineral water, but could be also added to white wine as a dandelion aperitif. I used a recipe I found at FX Cuisine.

Remember, when you are collecting dandelions, collect then from clean areas. Avoid the edges of roads, areas that may have been sprayed with pesticides, or used by dogs as a loo. Here’s the recipe, I hope you like it.

Recipe:

Dandelion heads (as many as you can find, I collected a small plastic bag full).

1Kg white sugar

Step One: Rinse your dandelions in a bowl of water. Pat them dry on paper towel. Then remove the stems, placing the petals in a large pot. There’s a technique to this. You could use a knife, but I found it more satisfying to grab the green stalk and twist it away from the petals. 

Step Two: In a large pot bring 1L of water and your petals to the boil. Once it’s boiling remove from heat and let the flavour of the dandelions steep into the water overnight.

Step Three: Sieve the dandelions out of the water. Press the dandelions into the sieve to remove all of the water. Dispose of the petals.

Step Four: Return the water to the large pot, and dissolve in 950grams of sugar over a medium heat. Once the sugar is dissolved, let the syrup cool and then decant into glass bottles. 

Do you have any dandelion recipes? If so, please do send them along. We have an endless supply of dandelions.