dandelion fritters

some of you seemed rather curious when i mentioned dandelion fritters on monday. not one to want a disappointed crowd, i have made them for lunch today and took the opportunity to share with you their delight. 

i'm guessing you all know what a dandelion looks like. BUT in the effort of covering my bum, please, ALWAYS consult at least two guides before eating anything edible. in fact just the other day i id'd a leaf of a plant rather quickly and carelessly as a dandelion. it was not. and it made me feel quite silly. i mentioned the guides i use in the post on ramp pesto.


when picking dandelions, try to do so on a clear, sunny day. like most flowers the dandelion will close up and look rather angry on rainy, cloudy days. you want a nice open, calm flower to fry.

my caveat to this recipe would be to make just a small handful. or, make for a group of friends. you do not want to be left, alone, like i am today, with a whole bowl of fried dandelions. you will make yourself quite ill. i promise you.


every part of the dandelion is edible. from the roots to the greens and the flowers. euell gibbons wrote in his book of a family he knew that survived a famine on the island of minorca thanks, in no small part to dandelions. he said they would fry their dandelions in butter. nearly everyone has a recipe for dandelion fritters.  the essential principle is the fritter part. you really need only batter and oil and a hot pan. but i rather enjoyed the recipe from the burlington free press. i love how many times they say local in the ingredients list. it's like a bad tick. and so, here it is, copied from them but i have changed the  dipping sauce. the article calls for chevre and horseradish which sounds delicious but not what i have here. so i used my homemade yogurt and some cut up wild ramps as the dip dip.

dandelion fritters (as found in the burlington free press)

you will need:

2-3 cups of dandelion flowers
1 local egg, beaten
1 cup local milk
1/4 c all-purpose flower (king arthur or other locally milled or grown)
1 c cornmeal (from butterworks, or grow your own)
1 t salt
1 t pepper
1 c veggie oil. i used EVOO, because i read the recipe hastily and therefor not thoroughly and it was scrumptious


directions:

1. for sauce, whip ingredients and set aside. serve with fritters. (again, use whatever sauce you can imagine, including the chevre and horseradish, or my yogurt with ramps).
2.  collect your dandelions from a nice clean pasture (not one where your dog or boyfriend pee). if they look clean, you needn't wash them.
3. mix up your batter including all the ingredients save the oil and the flowers.
4. put your oil in pan and heat. you want about a 1/4 in of oil. CAREFUL. hot oil has a very unpleasant reaction when contacted with the skin.
5. when the oil is hot dip the flowers into the batter while holding onto the stem and then drop them flower side down in the hot bubbling oil. again, careful.
6. cook until goden brown. fork or spoon them out of the oil and serve warm with the sauce of your choosing.

honestly, anything fried is delicious. i bet i could fry up worms if things got desperate enough and find them tasty. but the dandelion does have a bite to it that adds to the enjoyment of the fry.

i hope you all enjoy.

happy friday. we are adopting 2 kitties tonight from a farm the next town over. this should provide for a painfully adorable week-end.