Wilted Dandelion Salad

(matches the picture in my memory but ©2007 iStockphoto)

As a kid, my favorite kind of dandelion was after it turned white. I'd search the lawn, pick each poof ball and blow the seeds to the wind--much to the horror of my mother. We were both thinking the same, "Another season of dandelions!" I with delight, her with dismay.

As a teenager I remember the golden beauty of an entire field of dandelions in bloom under a cobalt sky. The colors are seared into my mind's eye.

Now as an adult my favorite stage is right before the flowers develop because that's when the greens taste best. They're still edible after budding, but with a bitter edge. That's right, you can eat dandelions!

Dandelion greens are chock-full of vitamins and nutrients like beta-carotene, fiber, potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, thiamine and riboflavin. The trick is to find good greens so that you're getting all the benefits without ingesting chemicals. The rare times markets carry dandelion greens, they're priced obscenely high. Don't they know it's a weed?! The best option is to pick your own far from lawn fertilizers, herbicides and the neighbor dog's favorite pissing tree. Young greens are the best, but this recipe below works well even with older leaves.

One man's weed is another man's dinner.

Wilted Dandelion Salad
Serves 4

• a large bowl of loosely packed dandelion greens (from my yard, hooray local greens)
• 2 slices bacon
• 3 T. chopped onion
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 1 egg white, beaten
• 2 T. white vinegar
• 2 T. water
• 1 T. honey
• salt and pepper

Wash the dandelion greens. Pick off the best leaves, discarding the stems and flowers. Set leaves aside.

Fry the bacon in a large skillet. When crisp, remove to a paper towel to drain.

Chop the bacon and mix in a small bowl with the egg white, vinegar, honey and water in a small bowl. Set aside.

Pour half the grease off the skillet and reserve for later. Heat the large skillet on high until the remaining grease begins to smoke then add the dandelion greens and stir rapidly for about 20 seconds until they just barely begin to wilt. Remove the greens to a serving bowl.

Add the reserved grease back in and reduce the heat to medium. Saute the onions and tomato until soft. Add the bacon mixture and stir constantly until it begins to thicken. Pour over greens and toss thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve warm.