Dandelion Salad

I had never eaten dandelion greens before, but on the advice of my brother who is an EXcellent cook, I went for it. I jazzed it up quite a bit because I had heard the greens can taste bitter. So I used grape tomato halves, tossed in some sweet fresh diced mango to complement any bitterness, added some toasted pinenuts, crumbled gorgonzola, & did a simple balsamic/olive oil dressing. It was deLICious! Thanks, John!

I grew up eating this salad; I loved it then and I love it now. My mom would get up early in the morning to pick the tender leaves from the backyard. She would then make a sweet warm bacon dressing that did a nice job of offsetting the slight bitter flavor of the greens. Thanks John, good stuff!

I love a simple green salad that allows the flavor of the greens to stand out on their own. I love dandelion greens (they're not for everyone!) & simply adding the onions & tomatoes are more than enough to make a delicious salad. The dried basil is a nice touch and a great subtle flavor addition. I enjoyed this with my own simple balsamic vinaigrette dressing recipe & it hit the spot. If you want to help tone down the bitter flavor of the dandelion greens, just soak them in some salted cold water for 5-10 minutes. Then drain & dry before making the salad. Thanks for sharing this recipe! :)

Just remember you must harvest the greens before they blossom or the greens will be bitter!!!!!!

Brought back great memories of my Italian father picking dandelions from the yard! He would saute' in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. I thought it was so weird to eat "weeds" but through him I learned to love them!

I guess a prerquisite would be that you would have to like dandelions. Very bitter.

Who eats weeds? Were you raised in a shed? Those were my first thoughts when this I first read. But this bizarre bowl of grass, it turns out, is first class! Fit for a queen in a king-sized bed.

I've tried to eat dandelions over and over again - I kept thinking I must be doing something wrong. I first ate them as a child when my mom would pick them from very young plants and make a salad similar to this but with oil and vinegar dressing. I didn't like it then and I still don't care for it. Darn things are bitter. I know, they're good for you - but you have to eat them to get the benefit of that goodness and I just can't. Sorry. At least I gave it one star - for the memories. My mom kept a basket and a knife in the trunk of the car and would stop and pick dandelions from farmers fields when she was out in the country - she thought they were a big prize! This was back in the middle ages - in the 1950's and 60's!

Thought it was great! Made it just as recomended. But the mangos and pine nuts with gorgonzola sound great! I will try that next time. Never have liked dandelion's before but made sure I picked only the very young tender ones. They were not bitter at all, whole family liked it and could not believe it was dandelions. We will definitely make it again.

This simple recipe is great - I grew up eatting dandelion salad. I slice the onions instead of chopping, and don't add the dried basil. Crumbled feta and a simple dressing of EVOO and balsamic or red wine vinegar go well with this. Tender young greens from your yard or farmer's market are way better than the huge ones sold in stores.

Thank you for this very tasty salad. In my country we love dandelions. We mostly boil them lightly and eat them with lemon juice and olive oil as a salad. They go very well with fryed fish or with barbequed meat.

All I can say to those who tried this and found it bitter, is that the greens have to be young, first growing, perhaps before the bud shows...... Great recipe, thank you.

I really liked this especially with the addition of mango and crumbled blue cheese.

This brought back memories of my childhood when Mom and Dad would go to the woods to pick wild greens--nothing better! I still long for that taste. Mom would cook them in some water and add bacon grease. Yummy! I remember dandelion and sour dock being some of the "weeds"they picked. We would also sprinkle our serving with a little vinegar.

If you don't pick these right when they spring up out of the ground they will be bitter. You have to pick 'em fresh for the sweet taste.

The argentinean style, as a side of a good argentinean bbq. Salt, oil(sunflower oil) vinegar(any kind you like, or even lemon juice) and lots lots of fresh chopped garlic! No wonder it is so hard to kill, Dandelions are a great source of vitamins and minerals too ! Yes, again lots of garlic, and do no speak too close to people that didn’t eat the salad. (Just chew a coffee bean afterwards)

I have not tried this recipe, but it sounds delicious. Also, as a reminder, not to be facetious, but those of you who treat your lawns with chemicals, do not use dandelion greens from your lawn. Chemical lawn treatments are toxic!

Very bitter greens but was great with a hot bacon dressing, I will offset this next time with adding spinach, fruit, and nuts.

I got these greens in an organic produce delivery -- wasn't quite sure how to serve. I used the red onion I had, then fried up some prosciutto to make it crisp and used Marie's Blue Cheese Vinaigrette (available in the refrigerated produced section of your grocery store). Having a dressing that's a little sweet helps balance out the bitterness of the greens and the salty prosciutto added crunch as well as balancing the "salty sweet" taste to the salad.

Tried my first dandelion salad last night and won't be the last! I combined this with another recipe, adding mango and strawberry to balance sweet and bitter. Also added feta, sunflower seeds, quinoa, and black beans to make it a full meal. delicious!

I added olive oil to your recipe. Tastes good!

When I was in my late teens, I remember my mother used to take a green plastic colander out into the back yard and come back with it full of the dandelion greens. And, with the simple addition of some tomato, cucumber, and onion, she made a top grade salad. She made her own sweet and sour type dressing for it and it was delicious. And so I have tried this recipe. And it is also delicious, and brought back memories.