Dandelion Blossom Pakoras

A super common way folks, including myself, recommend preparing dandelion in the spring is as fritters. They're fried, doughy, and delicious. What a stealthy and easy way to get anyone to try a wild food like this!

I was inspired by The River Cottage's recipe for cauliflower and sweetcorn pakoras—those savory and spicy indian treats—to switch up the run-of-mill dandelion fritter recipe.

What You'll Need:

2 - 3 generous handfuls of dandelion blossoms with stems
Sunflower or coconut oil
A few sprigs of fresh parsley (or any fresh herb from the garden, really)

Batter:
150g gram (chickpea) flour (use any flour you like, really)
1/2 tsp salt
2 heaped teaspoons of ground cumin
2 heaped teaspoons of ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1/3 tsp cayenne
1 tsp baking powder
125ml cold water

[caption id="attachment_508" align="alignright" width="140" caption="Pakora Batter"][/caption]

• Pick the dandelion blossoms mid to late afternoon when they are in full bloom. Try to get at least 2 or 3 inches of flower stalk as well.


• Heat 1/2 an inch or so of oil in a small pot (i use a 4 inch pot so I don't have to use too much oil to get a nice depth). Put it on medium heat while you prepare everything else.


• Whisk all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.


• Slowly pour the water into the dry ingredients while you stir. The mixture should be the consistency of a thick custard—you may need to add more water to achieve this.


• Pop the blossoms off of their stalk and plop them into the batter.


• Chop the stalks into 1/2 inch segments and toss them into the batter  as well.


• Stir the blossoms and stalks into the batter until coated.


• 
  
  [caption id="attachment_509" align="alignright" width="140" caption="Frying Pakoras"][/caption]
  
  Once the oil is heated, spoon the mixture in and fry on each side for 1 minute or so, until dark golden brown.


• Set finished fritters on a plate covered in layers of brown paper bag or paper towels, whichever is handy.


• Salt the finished fritters. Finely chop the parsley and sprinkle on top.


• Enjoy!

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Crafting a Springtime Wild Food Meal

*This is a guest post by Lisa Rose Starner. Lisa is an urban homesteader, wildcrafter, forager, gardener, and herbalist who lives in Grand Rapids, MI. She runs a small herbal CSA and writes about local foods and herbalism. Learn more about her work @ Burdock & Rose*

Local food isn’t a trend. What we’ve been seeing in the marketplace - an increase in organics, profiles of local farmers, talk of healthy soil - these are all important facets getting more attention in a new food and wellness paradigm that is taking shape and is here to stay.

Our culture is starting to shift. We are beginning to understand the connection between healthy soil and healthy people. We are beginning to make choices and invest in good, healthful and local whole foods as part of our health *insurance.* Lifestyles are adjusting to choose values of cooking, gardening, and eating together. It’s a refreshing shift in our community’s way of life.

Springtime in Michigan is an easy time to re-visit your own commitment to living hyper-local for your health. A few popular ideas, if you haven’t considered them already include joining a Community Supported Agriculture program and perhaps cultivating your first herb and vegetable garden.

Beyond gardening, what about learning about the wild plants that live in your yard, neighborhood or nearby fields and forests? The land around us offers many different plants that can be used as wild foods and herbal preparations to keep us well, and spring is an excellent time to learn to forage - There’s nothing more hyper local or healthy!

First course: Re-wilding the Salad

[caption id="attachment_479" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="The nectar rich flowers of the violot, viola spp. A welcoming sign of spring."][/caption]

Violet leaves and flowers (Viola spp), dandelion greens and wild chives mix together well for this flavorful, spring salad of bitter greens. While the wild chives can be found in the wooded areas near your home, you may find these greens as close as your own lawn -- don’t mow these *weeds!*

Assuming you haven’t sprayed your yard with chemicals, these plants can be eaten and are highly nutritious. Don’t be scared off by the bitterness found in the dandelion - the greens are not only packed with Vitamin C, but the bitterness is exactly what our Americanized diets of salt and sweet need.

Bitter greens like dandelion help the stomach in digestion by increasing bile production and it’s a good for the liver, too. We need to integrate more of these flavors back into our processed diets.  The violet greens do not offer the strong bitter profile the dandelion green does - it is a sweeter green, with a bright flavor similar to purslane, but not as strong. It, too, is packed with Vitamin C.

The violet flowers - both white and purple are both beautiful and add a splash of color to the salad.  They are slightly sweet and can be ever so peppery.  They are very fun for children to pick with their little hands.

To harvest - Simply pick the leaves and flowers by hand, and trim the chives with scissors. To ensure maximum sweetness in the dandelion greens, harvest in the cool morning before it gets too hot (same rules apply for all salad greens) and choose the smaller, tender leavers before the plant goes to flower.

Rinse the greens in a water bath and gently dry in a tea towel if you don’t have a salad spinner. Don’t wash the flowers - they will wilt. Top the wild harvested greenery with a zingy lemon-balsamic vinaigrette.

Perfect alone or topped with anchovies for that added flavor and protein. Pairs well with a crisp white wine. I might reach for a local Michigan Riesling.

Main Course: Wildcrafted Nettle Risotto 

Many of us have met the stinging nettle (Urtica doica).  As kids, we most likely encountered them horsing around in the fields of grasses with friends, only to be surprised by those stinging plants.

But what we probably didn’t learn is how nutritious the nettle is! Nettles have great virtues as a wild edible food that nourish the body with plenty of vitamins and minerals. Nettles are very nutrient dense; rich Vitamin C, Vitamin A, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, cobalt, copper, potassium, B-complex vitamins – even protein.  And they are extremely high in chlorophyll.

Look out, spinach. Pop-eye’s got a new superfood.

In seeking out the nettle, go on spring-time (April-June) hunts in areas of nutrient-rich, damp soil. One can often find them in areas that are adjacent to rivers, streams and lakes, or along drainage areas. Take care to know the area from which you are harvesting and it’s history of use -- try to avoid areas adjacent or downstream from large factories and farms.

Wear your harvesting gloves and long pants! They don’t call them *stinging* nettles for nothing! The stinging sensation and hive-like bumps that can occur from handling the nettle are caused from the hair-like needles found along the stem and leaves, and the sensation is similar to rolling in fiberglass.

Fortunately, the nettles will lose (most all) their stinging properties as they dry or are cooked (steamed or sauteed). Choose smaller leaves before the plant goes to flower mid-summer.

Once harvested, nettles can be used either fresh or dry.

If you plan on drying the nettles for use later in the season, prep them by chopping them into large pieces, taking care not to smash the fragile, fresh plant material. And do this immediately upon harvesting - you want to dry the plant in a vibrant state. You don’t want to let them wilt or deteriorate in your hot car on on the back counter.

To dry, spread them out onto racks (screens are easy for this) and let them dry completely before storing them in glass jars. If they are not completely dry before storage, they will most likely mold.

The dried leaves can be enjoyed year round added to soups and brewed as infusions for drinking.  The infusion should be left to steep overnight as to best extract the minerals of this plant.  The flavor can be a bit swampy to some, and blending the nettle infusion with a choice of green tea, jasmine tea, oatstraw and/or red clover makes it less “swampy.” Add a bit of honey to sweeten to taste and it is a refreshing, nourishing beverage that should be consumed daily.

Fresh nettles can easily replace spinach in recipes that call for the greens.  They can be lightly cooked and added to soups, egg scrambles, quiches, or other similar recipes. Bon Appetit!

Wildcrafted Nettle & Michigan Morel Risotto

What You Need:

1/4 pound young nettles (about 3 big handfuls - it will wilt like spinach)
12 oz risotto/arborio rice
1 onion, chopped
4 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup dry Michigan white wine (an extra glass for the chef)
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 oz grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup chopped fresh Michigan morels (if lucky) or fresh shitakes
¼ cup chopped, fresh parsley
Salt, pepper to taste

• Heat the stock in a large saucepan.


• Wash the nettle leaves. Blanch for 2 minutes in boiling salted water, drain and chop very finely. Set aside to add at the end.


• Cook onion and morels gently in half the butter in a large saucepan for a few minutes until tender.


• Add rice and cook over a slightly higher heat for 2 minutes while stirring. Pour in the wine, deglazing the pan. Cook, uncovered, until all the wine has evaporated, then add about 1 cup boiling hot stock; leave the risotto to cook, stirring occasionally and adding about 1/2 cup boiling stock at intervals as the rice absorbs the liquid.


• After about 14 - 15 minutes' cooking time the rice will be tender but still have a little 'bite' left in it when tested.  Add the prepared nettles and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring.


• Take off the heat and stir in the remaining butter which will melt and make the rice look glossy;


• Sprinkle with the freshly grated Parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir gently and serve immediately.

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The Delightful Dandelion: Diligent, Delicious, yet Debased

Dandelion - Taraxacum officinale

Eat Here Now is a manifesto of not only eating wild and local foods, but of cultivating awareness and connection to the place one inhabits. We all inhabit different places on this fine earth, and almost anywhere we travel across it, we are bound to run into our long lost friend and ally: the Dandelion. That's why the Dandelion is in many ways Eat Here Now's "mascot". It pops up in peculiar places, where we think we don't want or need it, and always shows off with an attitude of resilience, sunny-bright yellow flowers and an almost indestructible head of wind blown seed. In cracks, lawns, sidewalks, parking lots, driveways and more—it's one of the most well adapted species in the wild world, and more than likely you already know Dandelion, for better or worse. Let's make this relationship one for the better.

Dandelion is probably the best plant to start with when learning about wild food and medicine: It is easy to identify, is versatile in its' consumption, and is a truly powerful plant for repairing those places that need a little or a lot of love—inside as well as out.

Botanical Identification

[caption id="attachment_273" align="alignright" width="124" caption="Top to Bottom: Ray Flowers form Seeds"][/caption]Dandelion is  member to the Asteraceae family—the second largest plant family in the world—the family of lettuce, sunflowers, daisies, and so on. This family was once called the Compositae family; that's because plants in this family have flowers that are composed of many small flowers, called ray flowers. Each ray flower makes one seed, and if we recall the seed heads of a dandelion, we can see visually how each ray flower is pollinated to form each seed, the total of which we call the plants seed head. The widely distributed species most know, especially in N. American, is Taraxacum officinale. Officinale is the species name devoted to plant species used historically in medicinal preparations.

[caption id="attachment_473" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="All 3 of these are dandelion. It has many leaf forms!"][/caption]

Dandelion is an herbaceous perennial. It grows as a basal rossette, forming no true stem. Its' leaves range from 3 to 16 inches long with toothed edges which are, depending on the microclimate it is found in, deeply to mildy lobed (this is where it gets its' name Dande Lion—derived from the Latin phrase Dens leonis—lion's tooth). I often find that leaves growing in moist or shaded conditions will have shallow lobes and more tender characteristics, while those growing in harsh or dry environments will be deeply lobed and generally more tough. Each leaf has a central rib that is often a lighter shade than the leaves, and sometimes tinted with a reddish hue. All parts of the plant exude a white, milky sap when broken.

[caption id="attachment_274" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Basal rosette, penducles, and flower heads."][/caption]
Flower stalks—the penducles—shoot 3 to 14 inches up from the root crown from early to mid spring. These are hollow, unbranched and leafless.The surface of the stalk can be smooth or covered in a very fine white wool, and sometimes, but not always, tinged by a reddish color. Atop of each flower stalk is born one composite flowerhead, made of the many previously mentioned ray flowers. And what a beautiful flowerhead she is. After the flowers are a memory, the ubiquitous downy white seed heads form, each tiny seed equipped with a sail-of-sorts, carrying it on the winds to its new home.

*Interesting tidbit* A group of enthusiastic botanists in Britain have created a subset of field botany called taraxacology, appropriately dubbing themselves taraxacologists. They've identified around 253 unique species in the British Isles alone. Imagine the possibilities for North America![nbcite refID="8" refName="7"]

Ecology

Dandelions are found growing all across N. America, Europe, and Asia. It grows commonly on roadsides, in ditches, parking lots, cracks, farm fields, vegetable gardens, disturbed forests, meadows, old fields and of course, lawns—a poignant ecosystem we'll touch on in a moment. Dandelions are a pioneer species. Pioneers are a whole class of plants whose characteristics and niches are such that they can colonize and grow on degraded lands and effectively prepare the soil and ecosystem for further iterations of succession. For these reasons and more, dandelion is easily found in ecosystems where repair is necessary or where disturbance is evident (or often times not evident due to succession).

[caption id="attachment_300" align="alignright" width="176" caption="Dandelion's effectual taproot."][/caption]Of the pioneer species, Dandelion is a markedly useful and important indicator plant, being that is is a dynamic accumulator. Dynamic accumulators "mine" minerals and substances from deep soil layers of subsoil or weathered bedrock and transport them to the plant parts to be deposited on the soil surface. Dandelions accumulate significant levels of Potassium, Calcium, Phosphorus, Copper and Iron. For these reasons, dandelions are used in Biodynamic compost preparations and in Permaculture systems extensively. It can be grown in gardens to "chop and drop" as a mulch and fertilizer, or fed to livestock as a nutrient dense fodder—which increases milk flow in cows (and humans alike).

You might guess, or know from observation, that the dandelion's taproot is strong and grows deep. With this quality, it is capable of breaking up compacted soils, clay, and hardpans. It can be used in land reclamation and repair. A study conducted in urban Montreal demonstrates dandelion's ability to take up the elements zinc, copper, manganese, lead, and cadmium. It was also observed growing in soils with high concentrations of various metals—leading researchers to believe that it is an effective remediator, having the ability to phytochelate metals out of contaminated soils.[nbcite refID="1" refName="1"](1)

Those little yellow flowers are like sign posts that read "Regeneration in Process". Wherever we see dandelion, we can now associate the ideas of healing, repair and clean-up—the noble act of cleaning up the messes and mistakes of our very own making. Dandelions' ecological associations and functions interestingly enough, translate to its nutritional and medicinal qualities. Lets check those out...

Nutrition

The lovely, lavish, green lawn. Right... Each year millions of dollars are patriotically spent on herbicides and weed killers in attempts to kill dandelions growing in America's most coveted form of waste, the lawn. Because dandelions are relatively indestructible plant, this is a either a fruitless or expensive ritual, but often it is both. These same artificial ecosystems are then pampered by another billion dollar industry of lawn fertilizers and life support programs from multinational chemical companies. Lawn owners go on to spend more of their hard earned money on trucked in, nutrient-less, flabby, flavorless salad greens. Imagine that!

All of this is to elude that Dandelions are one of the most nutrient dense vegetables available to human kind for FREE and literally everywhere. Dandelions are "superfoods" in all senses of the term. They're rich in vitamins, minerals, and nutrients: beta-carotene (Vitamin A precursor), ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), Vitamin D, Vitamine E, Vitamin B6, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, iron, and manganese, to name literally a few. Herbalist Susun Weed calls dandelion the "bendover" vitamin, because one only need bendover, pick and chew two leaves, and will be filled with the daily requirements of vitamin C. About those vitamin supplements you've been buying...

Medicinal Qualities

Dandelions are notorious bitters. As a food plant, they rank among chicory or endive in bitterness— relatively mild and very enjoyable (and trust me, if you've tasted the skin on burdock stems you know disgusting bitter!). As a medicine they are much more mild than traditional bitters such as wormwod or yarrow. For this reason and many more, they are effective in aiding the kidneys, digestive organs, and as a diuretic. The whole plant has been used traditionally as a tonic and stimulant for the liver, kidneys, and urinary system. It has shown effectiveness in various scientific studies for its antimicrobial[nbcite refID="2" refName="2"](2), anticancer[nbcite refID="4" refName="3"](3), antioxidant [nbcite refID="6" refName="4"](4), anti-inflammatory [nbcite refID="7" refName="5"](5), and anti-obesity[nbcite refID="5" refName="6"](6) actions.

[caption id="attachment_277" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Roasted Dandelion Roots"][/caption]

The renowned 17th century herbalist Nicholas Culpeper describes dandelions medicinal qualities as such,

"It is of an opening and cleansing quality, and therefore very effectual for the obstructions of the liver, gall and spleen, and the diseases that arise from them, as the jaundice, and hypochondriac; it openeth the passages of the urine both in young and old; powerfully cleanseth imposthumes and inward ulcers in the urinary passages, and by its drying and temperate quality doth afterwards heal them; for which purpose the decoction of the roots or leaves in white whine, or the leaves chopped as pot-herbs, with a few alisanders (alexanders), and boiled in their broth, are very effectual." (parenthese by me)

The whole plant is used to make tinctures, decoctions, and infusions. My favorite medicinal usage is as a tincture of the root, taken regularly to help tonify the kidneys and liver and promote the elimination of toxins from the blood. Along with burdock, dandelion is my go to blood cleanser—the advantage being that it can be consumed regularly and in large doses. I also enjoy the dried roasted roots steeped in hot water, which some considered the finest coffee substitute—more on this in a moment. Dry the leaves and use them in infusions and broths.

Culinary Versatility

Dandelion is bar none my favorite spring green. The deep, dark bitter greens are welcomed to my spring salads, served steamed or sautéed with butter and garlic, cooked into hearty fall soups and stews, or served as the star in a wilted salad with bacon and honey! They're presence defines spring for me, when I can go out and freely chomp on the leaves, taking in all of those nutrients winters' diet deprived me of. Some folks get turned off by the cunning bitterness of dandelion greens, or bitter foods in general, but I think that with practice and proper preparation this turn off can be transformed into a turn on.

[caption id="attachment_278" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Dandelion Fritter & Wilted Dandelion Salad"][/caption]The herbalist Frank Cook said that while our culture is infatuated with sweet foods, we neglect those bitter things in both our diet and our life—we use phrases like "the bitter end", "the bitter truth", and in many ways downplay the importance of bitter things in both life and food. Bitters are those aspects that force us to grow, those challenging places that alter our perceptions and create change. When I taste a bitter food, I start to salavate, craving more, and on some level know that the bitterness denotes a food packed with nutrition. A very simple way to wean your palate is by starting small: spike a mixed salad with the subte bitterness of a sprinkle of nice, tender, young dandelion greens and a well made dressing. Baby steps...

When they start to flower, I pick them by the bowl full. I use the flowers to make wines, meads, and one of my favorite spring and early summer treats, dandelion fritters. I will also tear the flowers apart and liberally sprinkle the petals on top of salads.

In early spring and late autumn I dig every dandelion root I come across. I then scrub them, dry them, and roast them like coffee. This breaks down the polysaccharides in the root into fructose, imparting a delicious, roasted, creamy, and aromatic essence. I then grind the roasted roots and steep it in hot water to make a wonderful coffee-like drink. An absolute staple!

Wrap Up

Dandelion's are versatile friends—and they are, in my opinion and experience, truly our friends. They work to repair the landscape, following human "foot steps", regenerating those places that are in disrepair. They want to reclaim manicured, artificial ecosystems, kept alive by the life support of a wasteful human era. And they work to nourish and heal our bodies. How many  friends can we say all of that for? And even after being sprayed, ripped out, and bad mouthed, the dandelion still shows up for the job. For that matter, why fight the tide?

Dandelion's are also the gateway into a world unseen, unthought, and untasted. That's because they literally grow everywhere, are easily identified, and most folks already know of dandelions. It is the trip from knowing of to knowing about that alters our perception of this amazing plant. They are inescapable, indispensable, and indestructible plants that I believe we need not only for ecological health and personal wellness, but for the kitchen table. So get on. Let the lovely bitter linger on your palate, the dark mysterious diligence work through your internal organs, and the image of those debased yellow globes transmute in your mind. What a delightful experience.

[nbcite print_headline="Sources" print="mla" ]

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[nbcite refID="2" refName="2" type="journal" author="(2) K. Zaouia, L. Segni, G. Noureddine, and O. Mohamed Redha" year="2010" title="Antimicrobial activity of nine medicinal plants growing in the south  of Algeria" title_periodical="Annals of Biological Research" volume="1" issue="4" pages="145-147" initials="Author\\\'s Initials" hide_inline="true"]

[nbcite refID="4" refName="3" type="journal" author="(3) S. C. Sigstedt, C. J. Hooten, M. C. Callewaert, et al." year="2008" title="Evaluation of Aqueous Extracts of Taraxacum officinale on Growth and Invasion of Breast and Prostate Cancer Cells" title_periodical="In J Oncol" volume="5" issue="32" pages="1085-90" initials="Author\\\'s Initials" hide_inline="true"]

[nbcite refID="6" refName="4" type="journal" author="(4) C. Hu, and D. D. Kitts" year="2005" title="Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) Flower Extract Supresses Both Reactive Oxygen Species and Nitric Oxide and Prevents Lipid Oxidation In Vitro" title_periodical="Phytomedicine" volume="8" issue="12" pages="588-97" initials="Author\\\'s Initials" hide_inline="true"]

[nbcite refID="7" refName="5" type="journal" author="(5) H. J. Jeon, H. J. Kang, H. J. Jung, et al." year="2008" title="Anti-inflammatory Activity of Taraxacum officinale" title_periodical="J Ethnoparmacol" volume="1" issue="115" pages="82-88" initials="Author\\\'s Initials" hide_inline="true"]

[nbcite refID="5" refName="6" type="journal" author="(6) J. Zhang, M. J. Kang, M. J. Kim, et al." year="2008" title="Pancreatic Lipase Inhibitory activity of Taraxacum officinale In Vitro and In Vivo" title_periodical="Nutr Res Pract " volume="4" issue="2" pages="200-203" initials="Author\\\'s Initials" hide_inline="true"]

[nbcite refID="8" refName="7" type="book" title="Dandelions of Great Britain and Ireland" year="1997" author="A. A. Dudman, A. J. Richards" publisher="Botanical Society of the British Isles" initials="Author\\\'s Initials" hide_inline="true"]

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