May is a great time to begin to appreciate
edible wild plants. No "garden" plants will be ready for
harvest for weeks; in fact, I can't even plant the seeds until
the middle of this month. But the durable weeds are ready to
pluck from the earth now. They are abundant, they are full of
nutrients, and they are delicious.
Quick, think of a weed! You picked
dandelions, right? Picking the leaves before the flowers bloom
is a great idea. Toss them into salad, toss them into a
stir-fry, toss them into soup.
Dandelions are not native to North America.
They were intentionally brought by European immigrants
centuries ago because they have all the attributes of the
perfect spring food. The roots are winter-hardy, so the leaves
are among the first greens to appear. They are chock full of
vitamins and minerals, the perfect spring tonic. They do have a
bitter bite to them, all the better to cleanse the blood after
the long cold winter.
Dandelions are a happy immigrant. They grow
just about everywhere. If you can find a source that has not
been poisoned by pesticides or pollutants, you can pick all the
leaves you can find to bring home for dinner. Then next week,
you can go back to the same plants and pick all the leaves
again.
Dandelions are just so strong and determined,
that you never need to worry about wiping out the crop. No
matter how many you pick, there will always
be more the next time you need them.
The whole dandelion plant is edible. Pick the
flower buds before they rise on the stem, and cook them in one
or two changes of water. Pick the young leaves, chop them and
use as you would endive in a salad. Or sauté in a little oil
with garlic, then toss with a splash of salt and apple cider
vinegar.
Once the sunny flowers come into bloom, they
can be dipped in batter and made into fritters - but that's a
little heavy. You could snip the yellow petals into a salad to
add colour, or use them to decorate just about any dish. And of
course, there's dandelion wine to consider. You'll have to find
an old recipe book in the library to find a recipe. Generally,
a very strong tea is made from the yellow parts of the flowers.
This is simmered with raisins for a while, then strained and
fermented. Give it a few years to mellow - and it produces a
gorgeous golden wine.
Ah, but if the deep tap roots of the
dandelion are more than you can bear to leave in your lawn or
garden, then pull them out. Clean them well, and then roast for
several hours in the oven at 200 F. When they are brown and
dry, grind them and use the powder to make a caffeine-free
coffee-like
hot drink. Otherwise, when you weed the
garden, toss the whole plant into the compost. Compost loves
dandelions.
If you have never tried dandelions, now is
the time to get started. I will confess though, that it took me
several years to get used to the bitter flavour. Now I find I
like it better than endive! And it is much easier to
grow.
Viki Mather lives by a lake near Sudbury.
