Dandelion greens, fennel & pear salad

This is my latest favorite salad - the combo of the bitter dandelion greens with the crisp fennel and sweet pear is really perfect. I had some parsley and radish thinnings, so I threw those in too, though you don't need them. I had this salad with my leftovers from Eid dinner (a cheeseburger, plus potatoes with spring onions and asparagus) and a cocktail called the "suffering bastard" which I'd seen during Ramadan and wanted to try. It is gin, bourbon, lime juice, bitters, and ginger brew, all of which I had in the pantry, plus a mint sprig from the garden. I added a splash of sparkling water because I found it a little sweet, and that was just perfect on the humid evening.

Suffering Bastard - weird drink name

I didn't measure these quantities, but here is my best ratio guess for a salad for 2.

Salad - combine the following in a bowl:
2-3 cups dandelion greens (I go for small-medium sized leaves), cleaned
1/2 of a large fennel bulb, sliced thinly
several fennel fronds, chopped
1 pear, julienned
handful of parsley or other garden thinnings
handful of pecans (I did not toast mine, but you could and that would be extra good!)

Dressing:
Mix equal parts lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar) and olive oil with a squirt of mustard and pinch of salt. Toss with salad to coat.

Dandelion Green Salad (with Beets and Carrots)

I tried some dandelion greens straight from the garden and yard last weekend, and they were so good! Now is a good time to eat them because they are still young, tender, and not overly bitter. Plus they are plentiful. I was walking in the park last night, enjoying the 80 degrees, and noticed tons of baby dandelion plants that could be picked.

You want to look for dandelions that have not flowered yet, and then look for ones with smooth (as opposed to furry) leaves. If you look around at a few, you can compare leaves to better understand smooth versus furry. The smooth ones are the ones you are looking for to eat in a salad, and they will be a variety of sizes. Use a dandelion picker to pick the whole root and get all the leaves (and rid your garden of the dandelion), or just pick the leaves off and deposit them right into your colander. They are pretty fragile, so it is best to pick them soon before consuming them. You can rinse and wash them, and spin them dry in a salad spinner - they will get bruised, but that is not a problem for this salad.

This salad of beets, dandelion greens and carrots perfectly complement each other: the bitter greens match the sweeter raw veggies in a really delicious combo. Fresh spring green onions are also nice for the mild flavor, the smaller ones you can find the better. My Charming Companion made this salad up, and there was not any measuring going on. Below are some close estimates, but feel free to take some liberties.

This is about 2 big handfuls of the washed greens

Dandelion, beet, carrot salad
1-2 c dandelion greens, chopped
1/2 raw beet, grated
1 carrot, grated
7-8 small green onions, chopped*
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T olive oil
1 T mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c toasted almonds
*the smaller green onions are more mild. If you only have large ones, chop the white part very fine and use a few less.

Combine all of the ingredients but the almonds in a bowl, stir to coat all the veggies with the oil and lemon. Sprinkle almonds on top and serve!