Dandelion Greens and Pomegranate Vinaigrette Recipe

melissa
Silver Post Medal for All Time! 293 Posts

April 25, 2015

salad serving Did you know that dandelion greens are edible? Not only are they edible, but they are extremely high in vitamin A, calcium, and potassium. If that weren't reason enough to eat them, they are free! Yes, we all have them, don't we? Now that I know all their benefits, I am pretty excited about the endless amount right outside my door.:)

Dandelion greens can be pretty bitter, so you will want to mix them with other greens such as baby arugula or spinach to tone them down a bit. I made this vinaigrette to go over the salad and was very pleased with it's tangy, sweet, and refreshing flavor. Go ahead, pick those dandelion leaves, it's fun!

Total Time: A few minutes after your greens are cleaned.

Yield: Dressing should serve about 10.

Ingredients:

dandelion greens
baby arugula or spinach
grape tomatoes
Pomegranate Vinaigrette
2/3 cup pomegranate juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/8 tsp fresh ground sea salt

Steps:

The most important thing to remember is that you must be absolutely 100% positive that what you are picking is dandelion greens. I have taken a picture of the bunch of leaves I picked. Many times the leaf cluster will grow way ahead of the actual flower. Please do sufficient research on your own to be sure you are picking the right plant!

Dandelion Greens and Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Depending on how many salads you wish to make, this will determine how many greens to pick. It is a bit time consuming to trim and clean them. But it is well worth it, seeing as how you want to be sure to remove any dirt or insects.

All clean!

I put about 1 cup of baby arugula and 1/4 to 1/3 cup dandelion greens in each salad bowl. I topped these with a few sliced grape tomatoes, and then of course the dressing. Yum!

For the dressing, you will simply put your juice, oil, salt and pepper in a little food processor. These tiny little things are inexpensive and so very handy! Blend well.

This tastes so much better than store-bought, processed dressings. It's healthier too! It should keep just fine for a week or so in a jar in the fridge.