Flower Fritters
It might be interesting to know that the name “Dandelion” actually comes from an aglicization of the french “dent-de-lion”, meaning "lion's tooth".
Or not...
In my last blog entry, I talked about making the greens. Here, I’ll instruct on another fascinating dish, the Dandelion Flower Fritters. I made them alongside the greens, and served them together. They don’t have to be done together, obviously. And, in a blog, it’s easier to break them into two separate recipes, separate entries.
I’ll refer you back to that entry to learn about how to harvest the dandelions.
Dandelion Fritters
10” Dutch oven
14-16 coals below
4 tablespoons veggie oil
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour + extra to get the right consistency
20-30 dandelion flower heads
Pancake Syrup or powdered sugar
So, to do the fritters, I put the oil in the 10” Dutch oven, and put it on the hot coals. While that was heating up, I mixed the batter. I just put all of that set of ingredients in a bowl and whisked it up. I mixed it to be a little thicker than my typical pancake batter, which is usually pretty runny.
Once the batter was mixed and the Dutch oven and oil hot, I was ready. I picked up a flower by the green bud underneath, turned it over, and dunked it into the batter. Then I dropped it, sizzling, onto the oven bottom. There was a lot of room, so I just did a lot of them. I just let them cook until the batter was done, then pulled them off, replacing them with more battered buds. It’s really pretty simple.
When it was all done, I plated them alongside the greens, and drizzled them with some pancake syrup. Another suggestion that I’d read about was to sprinkle them with powdered sugar, or even to dip them into ketchup or mustard.
The gentle sweet of the batter, and the syrup helped temper some of that bitter tang that came from the bud. The petals had a real lightness to them. It was a very unique taste overall. If it’s an acquired taste, I acquired it pretty quickly!
Mark has discovered a love of Dutch Oven Cooking. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.