"It Tastes Like...Feet."
Is Junior Soprano right in his evaluation of dandelion's flavor? Well, I wouldn't say he's entirely wrong. We've been greatly enjoying our first CSA -- this week's highlights included eggplant made into a delicious parmigiana, cabbage turned into great slaw, and a wonderful squash soup. Tonight, the main thing left from last week's bounty was dandelion greens. We used Mark Bittman's recipe, making a salad with a bacon, shallot, vinegar and dijon dressing. Essentially, a classic frisee aux lardons salad without the egg and with dandelion serving as the bitter green.
The results? The good news is that dandelion greens are extremely nutritious. The bad news is that they...don't taste real good. I like bitter greens more than most -- escarole, broccoli rabe, love 'em. So I finished my salad, but I wouldn't claim it was with relish. Even if you like bitter greens, the intensity of dandelion bitterness is tough to take.
In the future, I would use dandelion greens as part of a salad with other greens -- maybe butter lettuce or cabbage -- but probably not as a main feature.
The results? The good news is that dandelion greens are extremely nutritious. The bad news is that they...don't taste real good. I like bitter greens more than most -- escarole, broccoli rabe, love 'em. So I finished my salad, but I wouldn't claim it was with relish. Even if you like bitter greens, the intensity of dandelion bitterness is tough to take.
In the future, I would use dandelion greens as part of a salad with other greens -- maybe butter lettuce or cabbage -- but probably not as a main feature.
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