Dandelion Pasta Salad
By on · In Dinner, Herbs and Spices, Luncheon, Meals, Pasta, Regional and Ethnic, Salads, Sauces and Gravies, Side Dishes, Techniques, Vegetables
Dandelion Pasta Salad is one of the nicest pasta salads we ever made, with a spicy, mustard flavor to the greens. Normally, we pull or try to remove dandelions from our gardens as weeds, but in fact, they’re a tasty food. They make a delicious salad complementing pasta well. Use only store-bought or organically farmed dandelion to avoid pesticides and herbicides. Don’t use the ones found in your lawn as it may contain harmful chemicals.
Dandelion Pasta Salad
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Bob Pastorio
Recipe type: Salads
Cuisine: American
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 4 Cups cooked pasta, any shape you like
- 1/4 Cup chopped green onions
- 1/4 Cup chopped red bell pepper
- 3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
- 1 Cup dandelion petals
- 1/4 Cup small dandelion or Arugula leaves (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel or anise seed
Dressing:
- 1 Cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 Cup cider vinegar
- 1/2 Cup light olive oil
- fresh herbs, chopped, to taste; basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, chives
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix salad ingredients, tossing gently.
- Combine dressing ingredients and pour over. Toss again.
- Serve chilled, immediately.
Notes
Dandelion leaves are used in Europe as a bitter salad green like arugula or radicchio. The flower petals are always plucked from the stem because the sap is tart and if you eat the green part, you'll pucker up so tight that a toothpick will be a squeeze. Just remember - no part of the stem and none of the milky sap goes into the recipe. The flower petals have a pleasant lemony flavor and they're pretty.
