My daughters absolutely love running around any patch of grass and grabbing a bouquet of dandelions to lovingly present to my wife, or anyone else who happens to be at hand. Swing by, you might get a bouquet too. So, the other day when I came across a lovely stock of dandelion greens at the grocery store, they were delighted when I told them we were going to eat dandelions for dinner.
If you’ve never cooked dandelion greens before, you can treat them pretty much the same as any other green you would wilt, but be forewarned, they are quite bitter. In this recipe, I cut the bitterness of the dandelion greens by also using a power greens mix of baby kale, chard, spinach, and arugula. The sweet raisins and earthy parmesan make for a wonderful play of flavors in the dish. Best of all, you can get this on the table in under 30 minutes.
If you are feeling adventurous, you can forage for your own dandelion greens I would recommend finding some grass you are certain has not been treated with weed killer though.
P.S. – I’m still figuring out how to make the nutrition content correct for the dish. There is no way this is 2000 calories per serving.
Sam Kaestner
Serves 4 - 6
A simple way to make a meal out of dandelion greens.
15 minPrep Time
15 minCook Time
30 minTotal Time
Save RecipeINGREDIENTS
- 1 bunch dandelion greens, about 8 oz
- Other assorted greens to make 12 cups. I used baby chard, kale, spinach, and arugula power greens mix
- 5 cloves garlic sliced
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 12 oz short pasta like rotini, cavatelli, even ziti. I used whole wheat
- ½ cup raisins
- 1.5 oz grated Parmesan
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Serve with crushed red pepper flakes
METHOD
- Put on a large pot of well salted water to boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. If you time it right, the pasta will be done right when the greens are done. Wash your greens and roughly cut into three-inch pieces. Mix all the greens together with your hands, so you don’t end up with big clumps of only one kind of green once everything is cooked.
- Slice the garlic into thin rounds. Heat a large (at least 12”) skillet over medium heat. Sauté the garlic for about a minute. Stir it regularly so it does not burn. After a minute, dump in all the greens. It will seem like a lot of greens; they should be mounded over the pan. Sprinkle with salt and stir to get the garlic off the bottom of the pan so it does not burn. Cover and lower heat to medium-low. Cook for about four minutes, or until the greens are wilted. Add the raisins, cover, and remove from the heat. I like the raisins to get a little tender with the warmth of the pan, but not cook so long that they get mushy.
- When the pasta is done, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water before dumping the noodles into a colander. Put the noodles into a large bowl. Toss the pasta with the greens and raisins. Mix in parmesan and serve.
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