Gardens aren’t the only things flowers can beautify. Many chefs use flowers for garnish, adding refinement and sophistication to their creation, but you don’t have to be a professional chef to use flowers as an element in your own homemade culinary masterpiece. In fact, flowers aren’t used solely as garnish — you can have them as the main ingredient, too!

A bright bloom that’s perfect for salads are dandelions. Making your very own backyard Dandelion Greens Salad with Dandelion Fritters lets you enjoy this flower both in its raw form and fried with egg. The flowers themselves have a faintly sweet taste reminiscent of honey, while the leaves can be somewhat bitter and earthy.

Letting the leaves sit in salted water for 10 minutes helps lessen their bitterness, making it more palatable — even pleasant. Adding some homemade apple cider vinaigrette brightens up this salad even more with a sweet and slightly acidic flourish. The dandelion fritters, on the other hand, retain the freshness of the blooms while giving it a subtle crunch.

Aside from these sunshiney flowers, adding in a handful of violets and forsythia blossoms lend some more panache to your Dandelion Greens Salad with Dandelion Fritters. Floral and sweet, violets serve as a pleasant contrast to the golden goodness of dandelions while complementing their sweetness at the same time. Meanwhile, forsythia blossoms can be slightly bitter, but their colors make for a rather cheery and appetizing garnish.

The backyard dandelion greens salad and dandelion fritters are pretty easy to make — you’ll be done in half an hour! It’s a great salad to share with friends or families during gatherings not just for its taste, but also for its Instagrammable appearance!

Backyard Dandelion Greens Salad with Dandelion Fritters

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Enjoy a sweet, sunshiny dish. This Backyard Dandelion Greens Salad with Dandelion Fritters is dressed in a sweet and slightly acidic apple cider vinaigrette tossed with sweet violets and forsythia blossoms for garnish. It’s the true spring salad!  

• Author: Amanda MacArthur
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: Serves 2 to 4 1x
• Category: Salads & Dressings

Ingredients

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• For the salad:
  • 10 young Dandelions, complete with leaves, washed
  • A handful of violets or forsythia blossoms, washed
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/8 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 pinch salt and pepper
  • 1–2 cups cooking oil
• For the dressing:
  • 1 shallot, sliced thinly into rounds
  • 2 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar 
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard 
  • 1 tsp honey 
  • 1/4 cup olive oil 
  • 1 tsp lemon 
  • Pinch of salt 
  • Ground pepper

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Instructions

1. Wash all flowers thoroughly. Discard stems from Dandelions, and as much of the encasement that holds the flower head, while still keeping them in one piece. Trim Dandelion leaves, and set in a bowl of salted water for 10 minutes while you prepare the rest.
2. For the dressing, in a small bowl, add your thinly sliced shallot rounds, top with apple cider vinegar, and mix. Let sit and macerate for at least 10 minutes as well. 
3. For the fritters, prepare two small bowls, one with a whisked egg, the other with flour, salt, pepper, and thyme. Heat a small skillet to high with your cooking oil of choice. Dip each flower head in egg, shake, then roll in flour mixture, and add to skillet. They should cook quickly, only a minute or two until browned. Remove from skillet to a paper towel to cool and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.
4. In the bowl you intend to use for your salad, combine dijon mustard, honey, olive oil, and lemon. Whisk together until combined.
5. Add shallot mixture into the dressing and mix until combined. Add a pinch of salt and a few cranks of freshly ground black pepper.
6. Now add your Dandelion leaves (strain and pat down first) and toss. Top with Dandelion fritters and your garnish of violets and forsythia blossoms. Sprinkle with one last pinch of salt and pepper.  Take a photo, then enjoy!

Do you eat dandelions? Would you? If you try this Backyard Dandelion Greens Salad With Dandelion Fritters recipe, let me know what you think!