The rather aggressive flavor of wild dandelions takes some sweet and heat to tame it. Honey, balsamic vinegar and black pepper do the trick nicely. Smokey fat from the ham hock is another way to bring down the bitterness. If you don’t have time to cook a hock, try this recipe with good-quality bacon or ham.
Recipe by Chef Daniel Orr
Ingredients
- 6 soft poached eggs, chilled and set aside
- 6 cups cleaned and stemmed dandelion greens, dried well with a towel or napkin
- 6 slices multi-grain bread, toasted and rubbed with a raw garlic clove
- 1 ham hock, cooked tender, boned and diced into ¼-inch cubes
- 5 cloves garlic, sliced thin
- 1 medium red onion, sliced thin
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground coarse black pepper
- 2 teaspoons minced red chile pepper, fresh
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- A dandelion flower to garnish
Instructions
In a medium sized nonstick sauté pan over a medium flame, render the fat from the diced ham hock. Toss in the garlic and allow it to slightly color. Add the red onion, olive oil, honey, spices and chili pepper and reduce the heat and allow it to sit while finishing the rest of the salad.
Cut the garlic toast on an angle to form 3 triangles from each piece. Warm the poached eggs in seasoned water (salt and pepper and a touch of lemon juice). Place 3 pieces of the garlic toast on each plate. Place the dandelions in a medium to large mixing bowl.
Return the heat to high and add the balsamic vinegar; season the mixture fairly aggressively with salt and pepper and pour over the greens. Toss well and taste; adjust seasoning and portion onto the plates, leaving a little of the vinaigrette in the bowl to spoon over the eggs.
Top the salad with one of the poached eggs and top with a bit of the remaining vinaigrette. Decorate with dandelion petals, if desired. Pull yellow flowers out of head so they resemble “saffronish” petals. Sprinkle over salad at plating time. Serve at once.
