Yard Foraging

This past weekend my son Cedar and I (Anthony Muñoz) went foraging. Not the wild mushroom kind of foraging involving hiking through the deep woods, but right out the front door into our yard on Hayes Avenue in Northeastern Oak Park. We harvested a bumper crop of a delicious, leafy vegetable long forgotten as a useful plant by most of us – the dandelion.

Its common name in the U.S. comes from Dents Lioness in medieval Latin, or Dent de Lion in French, both mean “tooth of the lion.” Its many other colloquial names reveal much about its uses and humanity’s descriptive creativity. It’s been known as Pee in the Bed, Piss-a-beds, Wet Weed, Lions Teeth, Lionstooth, Fairy Clock, Clock Flowers, Clocks and Watches, Farmers Clock, Old Man’s Clock, Blowball, Puffball, Priests Crown, Swinesnout, White Endive and Wild Endive.

This native of Europe managed to spread all over the planet. Long before scientists came to the understanding of why the dandelion was useful, Chinese herbalists discovered its many uses. Arabian physicians in the tenth and eleventh centuries believed in the dandelion’s medicinal value as a diuretic and for urinary infections and spread the knowledge back to Europe.

The plant was recorded under the name Taraxcacon and regarded as a “sort of wild endive.” It was used in Welsh medicines in the thirteenth century. The Indian subcontinent cultivates it largely as a remedy for liver complaints.

Regardless of its many positive attributes, it has to be one of the most maligned plants in America. The dandelion was once cultivated in colonial gardens by people who brought the knowledge of its benefits with them from Europe and believed the perennial was one of nature’s greatest healing aids. My, how far it’s fallen. Now a whole American industry is based on wiping out what’s been labeled a weed. This just seems silly for such a beneficial plant.

The dandelion is actually a great for gardening. Its tap root breaks up hardened soil and brings up nutrients from deep down, benefiting plants with weaker or shallower roots without competing with them. It's a great companion plant to tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and relatives (squash, melons), broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower as it repels cabbage worms, cucumber worms, beetles and tomato horn worms. It also adds minerals and nitrogen to soil. Dandelion is also known to attract pollinating insects and release ethylene gas, which helps fruit to ripen. In my opinion, this should be in every garden!

We cultivate it in our Oak Park yard (or perhaps we just don’t bother to remove it) as a delicious leafy green similar to arugula. But there’s more to it than just taste.

Nutritionally, the dandelion has remarkable value. Analysis has shown it consists of protein, fat and carbohydrates. It contains calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, sodium, Vitamin A and C. The calcium content alone is impressive, with a serving of dandelion greens containing as much calcium as half a cup of milk. It has as much iron as spinach and four times the Vitamin A content!

The leaves can be eaten fresh (best if less then 6" long). The flowers can be harvested and sautéed for omelettes or veggie burgers. You can even make Dandelion Wine out of this amazing flower. The root can be dried, roasted and ground up as a coffee substitute. There a many recipes on the Internet a simple search will turn up. Personally we like them in salads and my new favorite – pesto.

I took the pictured platter of greens and tossed them into our food processor with ½ cup of olive oil, 6 cloves of garlic, ¼ cup of walnuts, 1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan and some sea salt to taste. Not only was it delicious on pasta or slathered on fresh baked bread but I put a dollop on my bowl of potato leek soup and it was amazing.

Get harvesting! This year's dandelion crop is ready for the picking.