Tips & Recipes for In-Season Eating, by CSM Owner Megan Squire
Dandelion Frittata, served with Root Vegetables
(Roasted root vegetables on left, Dandelion frittata on right)
Dandelions are plentiful and nutritious but they have a bad reputation and are the scourge of many a suburban yard. Instead of drowning them in pesticides, why not eat them? Start by gathering young dandelion leaves from your yard or a local field. Make sure these are dandelions that have not been sprayed with pesticides. Don’t bother picking the roots, stems, or flower parts. (While all parts of the dandelion are edible, this recipe doesn’t need roots, flowers, or stems.) Many people think that the dandelions are more bitter after they have flowered. I didn’t notice this, but you’ll need to experiment to see how you prefer yours.
Ingredients:
mixed dandelion greens and beet greens or spinach, about 4 cups uncooked total, cleaned and chopped
1T olive oil
3 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
4 scallions or one sliced vidalia green onion or 1/4 regular vidalia onion
1T butter
12 eggs
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2T heavy cream or half-and-half
4 ounces of jack cheese
1 chopped tomato or 2 chopped plum tomatoes
Preparation:
1. Wash the dandelion leaves and stems. (I like to use the same method I use for leeks, but with three or four bowls instead of just one. Fill three medium bowls with water. Put the dandelions in the first bowl and swish them around to get the grit off. Remove the leaves one or two at a time and drop into the second bowl. Swish them in the water. Remove the leaves a few at a time and repeat with the third bowl, removing a few leaves at a time and making sure they are really grit-free. At the end, you should have bowls of progressively cleaner water and each bowl should have a fair amount of grit that has sunk to the bottom.) Coursely chop the greens.
2. Wash and coursely chop the supplementary greens (beet greens, spinach, etc).
3. Turn on your oven to 400 degrees.
4. In a large, oven-safe stainless steel skillet over medium heat, saute the fresh chopped garlic and sliced vidalia green onions for a few minutes until the onions are slightly tender. Add the greens and saute until the greens are wilted. Be careful that the garlic does not get too brown.
5. Move the greens and onions and garlic to a plate to rest and melt your pat of butter in the skillet.
6. Crack 12 eggs into a bowl (I used Asgard Farm local/beautiful/real eggs $3 per dozen – delicious!). Whisk in your baking powder and the cream.
7. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet with the melted butter coating the pan. Gently put the greens in, distributing them evenly and letting them gently sink into the eggs. Cook this – but do not stir it – on medium for about 5 minutes.
8. When the egg stuff begins to set around the sides, move the entire skillet to the 400 degree oven.
9. Cook the frittata the oven for a few minutes until it begins to set in the middle. Before it sets all the way, take it out and put some chopped tomatoes in the center. Top with some shredded pepper jack or another semi-soft cheese. (Mozzarella might work here, or farmer cheese.)
10. Put it back in the oven to finish, maybe another 4 or 5 minutes. You want the frittata totally set in the middle, with the cheese melted.
Serve with roasted root vegetables on the side.
