Yes, you can eat dandelions, and they make for a deliciously bitter salad green! I think their bitterness is best offset by a sharp vinaigrette with a little anchovy paste and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano on top. Of course, one caveat for eating dandelion greens is you need to make sure you’re harvesting them from a chemical-free area. Here’s a simple salad dressing to top off your greens.
Ingredients
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 shallot, minced
Coarse salt, to taste
Cracked pepper, to taste
Freshly shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano
Recipe
Whisk the first three ingredients and slowly drizzle in olive oil to emulsify. Add salt and pepper to taste then drizzle over washed dandelion greens. Shave cheese over top.