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Spring is dandelion season, and nothing beats this easy and delicious Dandelion Salad! Dressed simply with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice, it’s bright and fresh with peppery dandelion greens, fennel and onions.
Dandelion Greens are a nutritional powerhouse! According to healthline.com, they are “loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber”, are “rich in antioxidants” and have numerous other benefits. One bite and you know you are eating something that is great for you.
While their bitter flavor may not appeal to everyone (and lots of people just think of them as annoying weeds!), dandelion greens were especially very popular during the Depression Era as they could be easily foraged in a frugal lifestyle. (Keep reading for my own personal experience with this!) They’ve actually been a staple of Italian cooking since the 1800s. In Italy, this vegetable is known as cicoria.
But, the greens’ bitterness can definitely be tempered by eating them raw with a bit of salt and lemon juice. Younger dandelion plants tend to be more mild than older ones as well.
In recent years, dandelion greens have made somewhat of a comeback, appearing at farmers’ markets and in specialty stores.
Like my sautéed dandelion greens, this raw dandelion salad “recipe” is not really even a recipe, but it’s just like my nonna used to make it! It’s a basic technique and inspiration to enjoy this amazing green in a very easy way. Once you get past the multiple washes to rid the greens of all the residual dirt, this salad comes together really quickly and can be tailored to whatever ingredients you prefer. Mangia bene!
Picking Dandelion on the Side of the Road…
Here in southern New Jersey, I can vividly remember driving in the family car as a little girl in the late spring and early summer and us suddenly pulling over to the side of the road (or highway!) by a large field. We’d get out with a variety of knives, scissors and bags that always seemed to be at the ready. And then, stealthily, began foraging through fields we had no business being in to find and obtain wild dandelion greens. (This was before there were strip malls everywhere.)
True story.
The role of me and my sister was to hold the bag open by my mother/father/grandmother/aunt’s sides so that they could easily deposit the stash, as they proceeded, bent over, for what seemed like an eternity, with their cutting instruments, securing the wonderful wild greens for dinner.
This happened ALOT back then. Can you say EMBARRASSED?
One time, my Aunt Annie’s car keys fell out of her pocket into the fields, never to be recovered. That was a real fiasco! Remember, this was way, way, way before cell phones! (#the70s)
And, although I grew up in an Italian-American family, I don’t think this behavior was purely just us. If you were subject to the same thing as kids as I was, please message me so that we can commiserate!
The Best Way to Dress a Salad
“A ben condire l’insalata, ci vuole un avaro per l’aceto, un giusto per il sale e uno strambo per l’olio.”
This is an Italian proverb that, when loosely translated, means “to properly dress a salad, you need a miser to add the vinegar, a judge to add the salt and a spendthrift to add the oil.”
In other words, to dress a salad, use very little vinegar (or any acid such as lemon juice), use just the right amount of salt (not too much, not too little) and a generous amount of oil. Simple enough, but, the order of how the ingredients are added is important.
So, besides using great ingredients (fresh, crisp greens, extra-virgin olive oil, wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice, sea salt), the best dressed green salad is all in the technique. Here’s mine:
- Toss the washed and dried salad greens with the vinegar first in a large mixing bowl, then sprinkle with salt (and pepper, if using);
- Mix it together thoroughly;
- Let it sit for one to two minutes;
- Taste and adjust;
- Then, add olive oil and toss again;
- Taste and adjust one last time, adding additional salt and/or vinegar if needed.
The basic premise is this–if you add the oil first, you’ll create a film around the greens that will stop it from absorbing the salt and vinegar, which will just end up in a pool at the bottom of the bowl. (This is the same reason that you don’t add oil to pasta water or toss cooked pasta in oil before adding the sauce–the oil will coat the pasta and the sauce will just slide off and not become one with the pasta.)
Seasoning the greens with vinegar and salt first also really brightens their flavors and makes a tastier salad in my humble opinion. This is how I’ve designed this dandelion salad recipe.
On the other hand, some think that the oil coating the lettuce and sealing it is a good thing, because they prefer a less prominent vinegar taste.
Whatever your technique, one thing is for sure, once the greens are dressed, don’t let them hang around too long. Enjoy the salad freshly tossed before it wilts!
How to Make Dandelion Salad
- Cut off and discard any tough ends from the dandelion leaves. Then, cut the greens into bite-sized pieces. Place them in a bowl of cold water and swish them around to shake off excess dirt. Rinse them well and repeat as needed. Then, dry the greens well before mixing with any other ingredients to prevent a soggy, wilted salad.
- Slice the fennel and onions.
- PRO-TIP: For crisp and not wilted sliced onions and fennel: place them into (separate) bowls once sliced and fill the bowls with cold water. Refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes, then remove, strain and pat them dry with a paper towel, or allow them to dry laid out on a sheet pan or baking rack. The veggies will remain crisp and–bonus– the sharpness of the onion will be tempered a bit.
- Place the dry dandelion leaves in a bowl and sprinkle lightly with fresh lemon juice (or vinegar), salt and black pepper. Toss it well and let it sit for one to two minutes.
- Toss again. Then add the fennel and onions and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil until coated to your liking. Taste and adjust the flavor of the dandelion salad, adding additional salt or lemon juice/vinegar as needed. Mix well and serve immediately before the salad has time to wilt. That’s it!
More Spring Recipes You’ll Enjoy
- Easy Pasta e Piselli (Italian Pasta with Peas and Pancetta)
- Shrimp Scampi Pasta with Arugula
- Paglia e Fieno ~ Straw and Hay Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto
- Split Pea and Ham Soup with Potatoes
- Broccoli Pasta with Pecorino and Lemon
- Lemony Pasta with Peas and Ricotta
- Sausage Stuffed Artichoke Bottoms
- Baked Artichoke Hearts with Lemon Breadcrumbs
- Lamb Meatballs with Pistachio Mint Sauce
- Slow Roasted Mediterranean Lamb Shoulder
For a few more warm weather salads, check out Tortellini Pesto Salad, Italian Potato Salad with Olive Oil, and Orzo Caprese Salad.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can eat dandelion greens cooked or raw. In this dandelion salad recipe, the greens are not cooked. Check out my easy sauteed dandelion greens for a cooked version of the veggie.
Dandelion greens tend to be bitter, peppery and a little spicy. They are one of the bolder tasting dark leafy greens out there in my humble opinion. They also tend to have a fibrous texture.
Some say that the taste mellows out once cooked, but I have actually found the taste to be more mild when eaten raw.
Young dandelion greens tend to be more mild and less bitter than mature leaves.
These days, dandelion greens that you find at the market are more commonly cultivated. But they still grow in the wild as weeds in fields and in large patches of grass. Some also grow them in their home gardens for the edible leaves. Cultivated dandelion tends to be more mild and tender that their wild counterparts.
DANDELION SALAD TOP TIPS
- Rinse the Greens: Though not as filled with dirt as the dandelion greens we foraged years ago, they still tend to hold a good amount. Rinse the greens in cold water as many times as needed to remove all residual dirt.
- Dry the Greens: Just like any salad, the greens should really be as dry as possible before mixing with any other ingredients to prevent a soggy, wilted salad. I love using a salad spinner for this. If you don’t have a salad spinner and have the time, you can lay them out on a few baking sheet racks to dry naturally. Paper towels can help with this, too.
- Order of Ingredients: Toss the cleaned, dry dandelion leaves with lemon juice (or vinegar) and salt first, let it sit briefly, then toss with olive oil and other ingredients. (See The Best Way to Dress a Salad above for more on this.)
- Serve Immediately: Once the greens are dressed, don’t let them hang around too long. Enjoy the salad freshly tossed before it wilts!
- Recipe Variations: In this dandelion greens salad recipe, I mixed raw dandelion leaves with red onions, sliced fennel, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. But you can add in lots of other things to make the salad more hearty. Here are a few ideas:
- Tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers.
- Cooked chickpeas, cannellini beans, lentil or any whole grain such as quinoa.
- Grilled or roasted chicken, salmon, shrimp or steak.
- Nuts or dried fruit.
- A sprinkling of grated pecorino or parmesan cheese.
- Add Belgian endive, arugula and/or escarole leaves for a mixed bitter greens salad.
- Also, use white or red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar in place of lemon juice if you prefer. All are excellent here.
I hope that you are enjoying my Italian food blog and all of my Italian recipes and Italian-American recipes!
If you’ve tried this Dandelion Salad recipe, please let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
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Dandelion Salad (Nonna’s Recipe)
Equipment
- Salad Spinner (optional)
Ingredients
- Dandelion greens
- Freshly-squeezed lemon juice (can use red or white wine vinegar)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Thinly sliced fennel
- Thinly sliced red onions
- Extra virgin olive oil
Optional Ingredients:
- Grape tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
- Thinly sliced cucumbers
- Grated pecorino or parmigiano cheese
Instructions
- (Regarding exact amounts: this recipe is all about technique. Dandelion is sold in all sorts of bunch sizes and is not standard. My suggestion is to season to taste and start off lightly with both the salt and vinegar, then add as needed.)
- Slice the fennel and onions. See Notes below for a pro-tip on prepping these veggies.
- Cut off and discard any tough ends from the dandelion leaves. Then, cut the greens into bite-sized pieces. Place them in a bowl of cold water and swish them around to shake off excess dirt. Rinse them well and repeat as needed until all residual dirt is gone.
- Then, dry the greens well before mixing with any other ingredients to prevent a soggy, wilted salad. Spin them in a salad spinner or lay them out to dry.
- Place the dry dandelion leaves in a bowl and sprinkle lightly with fresh lemon juice (or vinegar), salt and black pepper. Toss it well and let it sit for one to two minutes.
- Toss again. Then add the fennel and onions and drizzle gradually with extra virgin olive oil until coated to your liking. Taste and adjust, adding additional salt or lemon juice/vinegar as needed. Mix well.
- Serve immediately before the salad has time to wilt. Buon Appetito!
Notes
- PRO-TIP: For crisp and not wilted sliced onions and fennel: place them into (separate) bowls once sliced and fill the bowls with cold water. Refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes, then remove, strain and pat them dry with a paper towel, or allow them to dry laid out on a sheet pan or baking rack. The veggies will remain crisp and–bonus– the sharpness of the onion will be tempered a bit.
- Rinse the Greens: Though not as filled with dirt as the dandelion greens we foraged years ago, they still tend to hold a good amount. Rinse the greens in cold water as many times as needed to remove all residual dirt.
- Dry the Greens: I love using a salad spinner to dry the washed dandelion greens. If you don’t have a salad spinner and have the time, you can lay them out on a few baking sheet racks to dry naturally. Paper towels can help with this, too.
- Order of Ingredients: Toss the cleaned, dry dandelion leaves with lemon juice (or vinegar) and salt first, let it sit briefly, then toss with olive oil and other ingredients. (See The Best Way to Dress a Salad below for more on this.)
- Serve Immediately: Once the greens are dressed, don’t let them hang around too long. Enjoy the salad freshly tossed before it wilts!
- Recipe Variations: In this dandelion greens salad recipe, I mixed raw dandelion leaves with red onions, sliced fennel, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. But you can add in lots of other things to make the salad more hearty. Here are a few ideas:
- Tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers.
- Cooked chickpeas, cannellini beans, lentil or any whole grain such as quinoa.
- Grilled or roasted chicken, salmon, shrimp or steak.
- Nuts or dried fruit.
- A sprinkling of grated pecorino or parmesan cheese.
- Add Belgian endive, arugula and/or escarole leaves for a mixed bitter greens salad.
- Also, use white or red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar in place of lemon juice if you prefer. All are good for a salad dressing here.
- Toss the washed and dried salad greens with the vinegar first in a large mixing bowl, then sprinkle with salt (and pepper, if using);
- Mix it together thoroughly;
- Let it sit for one to two minutes;
- Taste and adjust;
- Then, add olive oil and toss again;
- Taste and adjust one last time, adding additional salt and/or vinegar if needed.
Great recipe … I also like dandelions sautéed with garlic and oil (and if you Blanche the dandelions before hand, it removes the bitterness).
Glad you like the recipe, Richard! And, I have a simple sautéed dandelion greens recipe coming soon as well. Thanks for your comment. 🙂
I grow them in my garden, with seeds imported from Italia.
Oh the memories this recipe brings back!
there are wild cardoons in the same places in Jersey though they are a bear to cook ,but so good to eat.
My Aunt Mary always made cardoons!