Socked full of nutrients, dandelions should probably be eaten more often than zapped with herbicides. We've been taught to look upon this humble wildflower/weed/herb as a plague in our lawns and flower beds, but perhaps we should have more respect for the much maligned dandelion.
To further that end, I've searched out an old Mennonite recipe for a tasty hot dressing to pour over the tender greens. It's essential to gather the leaves quite young or they will be entirely too bitter. I'm sure you can also use this dressing for other greens, too, like watercress and endive. My mother in law used to make it for dandelion salad and then forgot her recipe. But I found it, at least this sounds like what I remember more or less. I gathered new greens and prepared the salad this week. Very good, though not quite as delicious as hers.
For The Salad itself:
4 cups chopped dandelion leaves
3 hard-boiled eggs
3 slices of bacon
For The Hot Dressing:
1 1/2 Tablespoons flour, 1 tsp. salt, 1 egg, 2 Tablespoons sugar, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 2 cups milk or water
Wash and chop dandelion leaves. Cut bacon in pieces and fry. Remove bacon from drippings. In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients, add egg, vinegar and water or milk. Stir until well blended.
Cook this mixture in the bacon drippings until thickened and cool slightly. Pour over dandelions and mix lightly. Garnish with sliced eggs and bacon.
For those of you who are reluctant to use all that bacon fat in the dressing, I suggest substituting butter which is better for you than margarine. You could probably even leave the bacon out if you're vegetarian, but bacon makes everything taste better.
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