Dandelions - the humble weed that a lot of people try to get rid of are in fact a very useful medicinal flower. Nutrition wise they contain many vitamins and minerals including vitamins A, C and K as well as iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium. They are also high in antioxidants and they are an anti-inflammatory.
The leaves can be eaten raw in salads, the roots can be made into a coffee and the bright yellow flower heads can be eaten too. We picked some from the green at the back of our flats and concentrated on the dandelion heads to make some delicious, wild food, dandelion fritters.
These tasty little morsels are just like little tempura-style bites - with a light and crispy crunch to them.
We will be sharing some more recipes using wild plants over the coming weeks.
You will need:
A good bowlful of dandelion heads
1 cup of plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
half tsp of salt
half a cup of milk
half a cup of water
vegetable oil
1 lemon
We did wash our dandelion heads first and left them to dry out - we do have a dehydrator but they could be left on kitchen roll to dry.
Heat the oil to a high temperature in a sauce pan or if you have a deep fat fryer that would be perfect.
Mix your batter together - so the flour, baking powder, salt, milk and water. You could add other herbs and spices if you like.
Dip the dandelion heads into the batter to coat them.
Test one out to see how well it cooks in the boiling oil. Ours puffed up nicely.
Squeeze some lemon juice on top for a little extra zing.
These were really tasty as a little starter before dinner - the batter tasted like a good bit of fish n chip shop batter and the flowers taste good with a slight bitter after taste.
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