Dandelion Quiche

[Frances]

...so, maybe I missed some buds after all.

If your garden is anything like mine, you should try this:

Pick a nice big bunch of Dandelions, split the stalks and cut the flowers in half and soak in salty water for several hours (first picture). Line a pie tin with your favourite savoury pastry, drain the dandelions and place them on the pastry. Cover with a thin layer of grated Gruyere and pour a mixture of eggs and some cream seasoned with salt, pepper and nutmeg over the top (second picture).

Bake for about 20-30 minutes at something around 200 to 240 C.

It tastes a bit like spinach, only different. Very nice. In fact our guests fell on the pie like a group of starving (vegetarian) wolves while I was getting my camera, which is why half of it is missing (and that would be the third picture) ...

That's how good Dandelions taste.

[Jed]

Re: Dandelion Quiche

Frances,

I think this is the best use ever that I have seen for a dandelion...

There is a story from Alaska that in the early part of the last century, a lady in Juneau Alaska saw her first dandelion (I think it was Juneau - on the panhandle coast line of the state). She was so enamored with the flower she built a chicken wire cage around the plant to keep the animals from eating the thing.

Well, as time wore on, the dandelion proceeded to invade the country to the point that now it is everywhere the road system goes in the state. The city park across the street from our old house in Anchorage was so infested with the darn things, you couldn't see what was left of the grass for the weeds. They thrive in that environment....

Just another invasive species.

JED

[papavino]

Re: Dandelion Quiche

To think that there were no dandelions in North America in 1620, and now we can make quiches from the amount we have in our yards!

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Dandelion Quiche

I grow a 4'x4' patch of cultivated dandelions all year. I just boil and add salt, pepper, fresh lemon juice and the best olive oil you can afford and it's a great side dish. It just never occurred to me it would make such a great quiche with their assertive flavors (relative to other mild greens). I'm firing up the WFO this weekend for pizza and I'm trying to think of things to cook beyond that to make use of the fire. Dandelion quiche should be great!

Thanks for posting Francis. -Dino

[dusty]

Re: Dandelion Quiche

That looks awesome...as usual.

But I must ask - been bothering me for months.

Why does it take two mice to change a light bulb?

I don't get it.

dusty

[Frances]

Re: Dandelion Quiche

Hey Dino, how long do you boil them for? Do you slit the stems or just chop them up? I'll have to try that.

The pickled dandelion buds I put in elsewhere are also really delicious, so if you're into eating them already, I think you should try that!



Dusty, oh dear... ok, I'll tell it again really slowly, so listen carefully now (and make sure you catch the intonation):

"How many mice does it take to *screw* (snicker snicker, nudge nudge, she said "screw", heh heh...) in a lightbulb?"

Better now?

[dusty]

Re: Dandelion Quiche

OOOhh....OK. Now I get it. Duh.

Thanks

dusty

[Mitchamus]

Re: Dandelion Quiche

Frances -

What does soaking them in the salty water do?

is there some sort of nastiness that has to leech out?

or is just for seasoning?

cheers,
mitch.

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Dandelion Quiche

Frances, I've got about 3 different kinds of dandelions growing: most are green with a white streak in the leaf stem, some have a red stem (a little stronger tasting) and the occasional sharp toothed, green leaf that most would swear is a garden weed. It's good to a have a variety. I try to pick the leaves often so they never get to flower. I use lots of water and boil for about 20 minutes to get the stronger or bitter flavors to subside, but hey: that's why they are called "bitter greens".
So you pickle the flower stalks? Do you pick them just before they open? What do you pickle in? I think I could seriously get into pickling vegi's and plan on it once my WFO & pizza making skills plateau and I have time for other things.
Thanks! Dino

[christo]

Re: Dandelion Quiche

I got a whole yard of dandelions waiting to be Quiched!!!

I can remember as a young boy scout picking dandelion greens early in the spring. Good eats.

Christo

[Frances]

Re: Dandelion Quiche

Hey mitch, the saoking reduces the bitterness. The book I read said use either salt or water, so of course I used both... but it does work.

Dino, I just pickle the flower buds, not the stalks. And the smaller they are, the nicer they taste. The first lot were so small they hadn't even developed stalks yet, some of the later ones were just about to open. Here's the thread - its really easy, two or three minutes on the boil are quite enough.

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f25/...buds-6455.html

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Dandelion Quiche

Here are some of the Dandelions I picked this weekend. They were very tasty. Everything grows so fast this time of year. Hard to keep up.

[papavino]

Re: Dandelion Quiche

My yard is going through a dandelion renaissance at the moment. I'm thinking of attempting the quiche this weekend. Huzzah!

Dino, your dandelions look much nicer than mine for some reason. Almost as if they were cross-bred with chard. Mine just look weedy. Oh well. Here's to trying it out!

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Dandelion Quiche

Papavino, yes, some do look a bit weedy. We had a mishap last weekend were I cut bunch to get the garden ready for winter lettuces and just put them in big pot of water to rinse out in the yard before I go thru to pull out the REAL weeds and bits. I left them overnight outside in their water, my partner thought I already went thru them and boiled them for dinner. I took one look and new right away something was wrong. Weird brown, stringy stuff that looked like sea-weed. Pulled them out, dressed up good dandelions with EVOO and lemon juice, salted and to my surprise, were delicious.

Did you make your quiche yet? I would think a spinach quiche with half dandelions would taste excellent to most people. I may try it too, Cheers, Dino