Today my kids rescued a heap of dandelions from the lawnmower ("rescued" is a funny word, since they were picked, plucked, and headed for the pot, but I digress...).
A heap of dandelion flowers becomes a rather smaller heap of petals, once they're all plucked, but we sat there diligently plucking, the three of us, until we had a good 8 or 10 cups of fluffy yellow petals. And here's what we did with them: (Adjust as you see fit; I make this recipe up every time I do it!)
1. In a bowl, mix together:
- 2 - 3 cups flour (we use my gluten-free blend*)
- 2 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
2. now mix in (thoroughly, one at a time):
- 8 - 10 cups fresh** dandelion petals
- enough liquid to make a batter as thick as buttermilk (milk, rice milk, water, etc.)
3. pour grapeseed or other oil into a skillet and cook as you would regular pancakes.
These are tasty either alone or with savoury or sweet toppings. We had ours with a mixture of yogurt, brown sugar and lemon juice.
*Emily's gluten free flour blend: approx. 2 cups rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch, 2/3 cup tapioca starch, 1tbsp guar gum (can substitute 2tsp xanthan gum).
**It's important to use FRESH PETALS. The petals have to be plucked as soon as the flowers are harvested, or the flowers will all close up and the petals will be smaller, and lose some of their flavour and a lot of their fluffiness. I suspect too that they may lose some of their nutrient as they pull back into the plant. Also, you don't want to wait to mix them into the batter, either, because they will shrivel up and turn brown, and stick to each other. Not good.
