My friend lives on a farm and has nice big rolling lawns for her kids to run their little hearts out. She recently asked me and my kids to help her pick some dandelions. I thought she’d gone mad. While I appreciate any opportunity to exhaust my children, I thought that sounded more like a job for an ambitious lawnmower.
She laughed at me. “No silly,” she said in her wise outdoorsy voice, “I’m going to use the dandelions.”
“For what?” I said in alarm.
Well, she was going to make dandelion syrup and dandelion pizza. What on earth?
We picked the dandelions. Lots and lots of them. My hands turned yellow. Then we brought them inside and rinsed them off. Then:
Dandelion Syrup:
We separated the pretty yellow parts of the flower from the boring green parts. You can save the green parts for a dandelion salad if you’re feeling particularly ambitious. Then:
- Put about 1 ½ to 2 cups of dandelion petals in a saucepan.
- Add 2 to 3 cups water, till the flowers are just covered.
- Bring to a boil, then cover, cool, and refrigerate overnight.
- In the morning, put mixture through a fine strainer, putting the golden liquid into a new saucepan.
- Add about 2 cups of sugar (to taste).
- Simmer on low heat for about 90 minutes.
- Taste test. Then store in fridge in airtight container
- Serve over pancakes or biscuits for dandelion goodness.
My friend’s kids are obsessed with pizza, so dandelion pizza seemed like a natural choice. She made her own dough, but I would obviously buy the premade empty shells at the grocery store. Then:
Dandelion Pizza:
- Chop dandelions (both flowers and greens) into bite size pieces. Then sauté with garlic and a little butter for 2–3 minutes.
- Create pizza as you normally would with your favorite pizza sauce and cheese. Then top with the dandelions and garlic. Then bake at 375 for 10 minutes or so, until the cheese is melted and crust is done.
There you have it! Someone told me dandelions were just an obnoxious weed, but that was just a vicious rumor. Dandelions have been promoted!
Posted by Robin
