Herber Dandelion Healthy cooking with local wild herbs

Wild herbs in the kitchen: The harsh dandelion
With spring, the dandelion not only on the meadows, but also in the kitchen. The plant with the sunny yellow flowers is perfect as a kitchen herb. The delicate leaves have a tart nutty flavor and can be blanched and used as a vegetable.

Dandelion tea is a proven home remedy to provide the body with iron during diarrhea. (Image: superfood / fotolia.com)

In the salad, they can be combined very well with other wild herbs, lettuce and cherry tomatoes. A dressing of walnut oil and red wine vinegar is perfect for this. A dandelion pesto is a very special treat and not difficult to prepare: a bunch of leaves, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, almonds and Parmesan be pureed and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Sometimes the bitter taste can be too dominant. Then place the leaves in cold water for one to two hours before cooking. It is even easier to soften the harsh note with other ingredients. For potatoes and apples are very suitable. In salad, a dash of cream or some sour cream in the dressing will do wonders.

Not only the leaves of the dandelion are edible. The flowers are a spring decoration for appetizers and salads. But they can also be processed into a honey-like syrup or jelly. The young buds are a popular caper substitute. Place the dandelion heads with vinegar, tarragon, parsley, garlic and onion rings in a sealable glass and enjoy after eight to ten weeks.

Dandelion is especially tasty before the first flowering. An alternative is the mild breeding dandelion, which has fleshier leaves and is imported mainly from France during the summer months.

The weed convinces with many positive ingredients such as vitamins C and D, but also potassium, calcium and magnesium. The bitter substances stimulate the appetite and support the digestion. In natural medicine, the leaves and the beet root are prepared as tea. Heike Kreutz, bzfe