Pickled dandelion buds

[Frances]

Anyone remember this Thread?

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f20/...-pie-4013.html (Nettle pie)

Well, with Springtime coming on (slowly, but nevertheless) my ongoing war against the Dandelions has started once again. And then I stumbled accross this recipe...

Hey, its really good!!

You pick as many Dandelion buds as you can find (and guess who's kicking herself for weeding half of them out yesterday), soak them in very salty water for a couple of hours to remove the bitterness, rince, and then boil them up briefly with some vinegar (I used some nice organic apple stuff) some peppercorns and one clove.

I was going to let them mature for a while, but after trying one while they were cooling down I don't really see the point... Seriously, they taste really nice! Lovely texture, too.

I got the idea out of a book on eating weeds. So watch this space...

[egalecki]

How big are the buds? I never seem to see them until they're nearly ready to blow....

[Les]

Originally Posted by Frances

I got the idea out of a book on eating weeds.

I've heard of smoking them They contain a latex so it sounds kinda gross - I'll take your word.

Les...

[Frances]

Originally Posted by egalecki

How big are the buds? I never seem to see them until they're nearly ready to blow....

The buds are about 1/2 cm accross, maybe a bit smaller. You can find them in the middle of a Dandelion plant, scrunched up right down at ground level - at least that's as far as the Dandelions in my garden got this year. Maybe they'd be bigger if I'd let them mature a bit more...

Les, maybe I'd even try that - but the only member of the family who smokes is the oven, and I think she prefers Hazel and Beech.

[texassourdough]

And coming now, from a weed patch near you ---- the pickled dandelion pizza!

Snappy name but the impression leaves a bit to be desired!
Jay

[Frances]

Duh! ...Now why didn't I think of that??! If you just left them in the brine, they'd probably be great on Pizza! I'll keep you posted


Talking of weed patches, I have discovered that my second most hated weed, this one:
Ground-elder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
îs also very tasty. Like spinach but with a nicer taste and less sloppy. Its still a pity they don't tell you how to get rid of it...


And this one is really nice in salads:
Achillea millefolium - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


I just think its fascinating how some plants still get eaten (like spinach) and some don't - even though they taste really good and are easy to get hold of. Probably we only get to eat the ones that can be standardised and cultivated nowadays... seems like rather a pity.