Maureen Lafrenière

Spring is here and those familiar little yellow flowers are everywhere — lawns, gardens, back lanes, fields, abandoned lots, and even sprouting from cracks in sidewalks.

Long before the dandelion became a scourge of modern lawns, it was considered a valuable plant by many cultures because of its medicinal properties. In fact, the common dandelion was introduced to North America by European settlers who cultivated it for food and medicine. With its parachute-like seeds (who doesn’t remember sending them into the air by the thousands?), it is a very prolific invader.

While its common name, borrowed from French, refers to its tooth-like leaves (“dent de lion”), the French common name — pissenlit — comes from the plant’s long-established reputation as a diuretic. The plant’s botanical name, Taraxacum Officinale (“official remedy”), attests to its historic role in healing.

This hardy perennial, which blooms in mid-spring, has a long taproot that draws minerals from the hard pan well below the surface of the soil. The nutritional profile of dandelion leaves outclasses that of spinach, kale and other leafy greens, with high levels of Vitamins A, B-complex, C, and E, plus calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, selenium and manganese.

All parts of the plant can be used: buds and flowers for food, tea, wine, jam and fabric dyes, leaves for food, the milky liquid in the stem for skin ailments and the root, roasted and ground, brewed as a caffeine-free coffee substitute. As a natural medicine, dandelions are used to treat kidney, liver and blood ailments.

In the garden, dandelions can actually play the role of valuable companion plants, providing nectar and shelter for beneficial insects as well as aeration for compacted soil. They are also known to release a chemical into the soil that can inhibit the growth of harmful fungi on the roots of surrounding plants.

So go ahead and yank out that dandelion if it’s an unwanted intruder in your garden. But before you toss it aside, think about saving those fresh green leaves for lunch (if you’re Italian, you probably already do this). Once eaten, it’s never really a weed any more.

If you are not already a fan of the dandelion and are not sure where to start, two delicious recipes are included below (yes, I have tried them). The leaves can substitute for spinach in recipes like quiche, salads, fritters and stir-frys, and combining the two greens will tame the bitterness of the dandelions.

Cultivated dandelions are showing up more often in stores these days.

A few tips on harvesting:
If possible, collect the leaves early in the season and before the flower sprouts – they will be more tender and less bitter;

Be sure to collect leaves and plants from areas that have not been treated with pesticides (note: if the dandelion stems are curled up from overgrowth, they have probably been treated with a herbicide);

Soaking the leaves in water for a few hours will remove some of the bitterness;

If you have severe allergies to asters, daisies or ragweed, use dandelions with caution.

Weed balls
2 cups (500mL) dandelion greens (or mixed greens)
2 cups (500mL) bread cubes cut into 1/4-in. pieces
2 eggs, large
3/4 cup (187mL) grated Parmesan cheese

Toss greens and bread cubes together. Add eggs and mix. Form into 16 to 20 ping-pong-sized balls and roll in the cheese to coat. Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes, until browned.

Dandelion Pesto
2 cups (500mL) washed, dried and packed dandelion leaves
1–2 tbsp. (14–28 grams) dried herbs (one or more of basil, thyme, savory or other)
1–3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup (250mL) nuts of sunflower seeds
1/2 cup (250mL) olive oil
1 cup (250mL) grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Add each ingredient, one at a time, into a food processor until completely blended (this can also be done by hand). Drizzle in the olive oil, then the cheese to allow them to combine thoroughly. Use with cooked pasta or as a spread.

(Recipes from the web site of the Alberta Native Plant Council: http://www.anpc.ab.ca/content/resources.php)

Web sites for recipes and for more info about the nutritional profile of common weeds

For information about the plant and its nutrient profile:
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-B00001-01c20dN.html
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-dandelion.html
http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/d/dandel08.html
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsHerbs/Dandelionch.html
http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/ediblefl.htm

For recipes and tips on using dandelions:
http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/
http://www.sunriseherbfarm.com/recipes/dandeliondishes.html
http://www.naturesgarden.ca/dandelion_recipe.htm
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/dandelion.asp
http://www.kitchengardeners.org/dandelion.html
http://www.pesticidefreeyards.org/Pages/Weeds.html#DandelionRecipes
http://content.garden.org/regional/report/arch/463