Dandelion Greens with Red Pepper
My Organivores bin had a myriad of greens this week including a big bunch of dandelion greens. Yup, weed leaves. And, I have to say, they are delicious.
First up, I had a look around on the web to see how exactly one prepares and cooks them. This video from Clean & Delicious with Dani Spies was very helpful (thanks Dani!).
Next, I had a look for other recipes just to see what was out there and settled on a variation of this recipe for Sauteed Dandelion Greens from Epicurious. It got 5 stars so that was good enough for me. I didn’t bother blanching the greens first (it wasn’t necessary), although I would taste your greens because if they are super bitter (mine weren’t) you might want to blanch them a bit first.
When finished, the greens do have a slightly bitter back note (think radicchio) but the strong flavours from the Tamari and the lemon juice (and the garlic I suppose) balance it quite nicely. If you like sauteed chard, beet greens, and the like, I think you’ll like dandelion greens as well.
Ingredients
- 1 big bunch of dandelion greens, washed and with the stems trimmed off right up to where the leaves start
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 – 4 cloves garlic, diced (next time I will add more)
- 1 red pepper sliced
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp Tamari or soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- fresh pepper (you won’t need extra salt)
Method
- Heat olive oil in a big saute pan.
- Saute diced onion 3-4 minutes on med-low until they start to become translucent.
- Add the diced garlic and peppers.
- Chop the greens into 1″ ribbons and add to the pan.
- Keep tossing the greens until the begin to wilt (it won’t take long).
- Drizzle in the Tamari and toss.
- Drizzle in the lemon juice and toss.
- If there is a lot of liquid in the pan keep sauteing until it start to evapourate.
- Server as a side, on rice, or just eat.
Notes: Makes 4 side servings.