Tasty Bunny Food

This spring, I am vowing to get over my fear of two foods that typically start appearing right about now.

Fresh dandelion greens

I vaguely know I should be eating these foods, and that they are “cleansing,” though I don’t know what that means until I look it up. Tamping down my apprehension, I put dandelion greens and burdock root in my shopping basket and hope I make something palatable with them.

In truth, I’m more afraid of the burdock root, because it doesn’t look like anything else I typically eat, while the dandelion greens at least look familiar (if you don’t mind their jagged leaves and slightly fuzzy texture). Of course, on this day my Internet connection is down, so I’m on my own with preparing them (my old-school cookbooks aren’t any help; these wild edibles have only started appearing in the grocery store in recent years).

First up, the burdock root. I decide that I’ll make soup with it, with lots of potatoes, and I’ll mince a few dandelion greens and add them at the end for color. I peel the burdock and slice a few pieces. I taste one.

Burdock root from Cate Farm in Plainfield

The taste is mild, almost like water chestnut, but it’s the texture I’m most noticing. It’s moist, a little spongy even, certainly quite palatable, a far cry from the bitter horseradish I had somehow conjured in my mind. After a minute or two, I find it’s dried out my mouth. Not sure what that’s about. I take comfort in the fact that I’m cooking it, and hope for the best.

Now for the dandelion greens. I remember reading that you can take the bitterness out of wild edibles by blanching them, so after washing and mincing about ¼ of the bunch for the soup, I blanch the rest in boiling water for a minute or two. The bright green water they leave behind looks healthy and fresh, and too late it occurs to me that perhaps I should have used it for the soup stock. However, on an adjacent burner, the soup is already cooking away, with stock that’s being created right in the soup as it cooks with the addition of a package of Maple Wind chicken necks (you could omit these and simply use your favorite broth, or homemade stock).

The blanched dandelion greens remain bright green and are pretty, but yikes they are still so sour! I rinse the pan and add olive oil, a crushed garlic clove and the chopped greens to the pan and sauté for a minute or two. I sprinkle in coarse sea salt, black pepper, and a handful of dried cherries. It looks like it could be good.

The soup is just about ready, so I add the minced dandelion leaves and a little organic heavy cream from Butterworks Farm, along with a sprinkle of chives for garnish. It tastes….good -  mild, earthy, with just a touch of brightness from the dandelion greens. The kids both ask for second helpings.

Potato-Dandelion Soup with Burdock

The sautéed dandelions are still mouth-puckeringly sour, but combined with the sea salt, garlic, and cherries there’s something a little addictive about them, and we quickly finish them off.

Dandelion Greens with Dried Cherries

It’s only now, as I write this up, that I’ve been able to look up the nutritional properties of dandelions and burdock. Here’s what I’ve learned:

Dandelions are “cleansing” because they are a natural diuretic, and they help detoxify the liver by flushing it out. They provide support for the digestive system and are loaded with minerals (like iron) and vitamins (like beta-carotene and Vitamin C).

Burdock, too, is a diuretic that helps cleanse toxins from the blood by stimulating the liver, kidneys, colon, etc. It’s popular in China and Japan.

So, there you have it folks. I’ve overcome my fear of these spring wild edibles, and learned what “cleansing” means. I look forward to trading in my California dandelions for the Burlington variety, and doing some more experimentation.

Potato-Dandelion Soup with Burdock
3 Tbs. butter
1 package Maple Wind necks
1 small burdock root, peeled and thinly sliced
1 yellow onion, diced
3 stalks celery
1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
About 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (approx. 8), peeled and sliced
Enough water to cover the potatoes by about 1-2 inches) – 6-8 cups
1/3 cup finely minced dandelion leaves (about 4)
¼ cup heavy cream
Fresh chives to garnish
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt butter in a heavy soup pot. Add chicken necks and sauté a few minutes. Add burdock root, onion, and celery and sauté until the onion starts to soften. Add apple cider vinegar to deglaze the pan. Add potatoes, stir, and enough water to cover the potatoes by about 1-2 inches. Cook with more salt, partially covered, until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove chicken necks. Puree with a blender until mostly smooth. Just before serving, check for salt and pepper and adjust as needed. Add minced dandelion leaves, heavy cream, and a sprinkle of fresh chives. Serve warm. Serves 4-6.

Sautéed Dandelion Greens with Dried Cherries
¾ bunch of dandelion greens, very well washed
Water for blanching
1-2 Tbs. olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and  crushed
Sprinkle of dried cherries
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Blanch dandelion greens in boiling salted water for 1-2 minutes. Drain. Rinse pan and heat olive oil with one clove crushed garlic. Chop dandelion greens and add to pan. Sauté gently for 1-2 minutes. Add sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and dried cherries and stir again. Serve warm. Serves 2.