Embracing strong flavors: Pasta with Dandelion Greens

Get into the pleasantly bitter taste of super-healthy dandelion greens with weeknight-quick Pasta with Dandelion Greens. Recipe below.

WHEN WE CAME BACK FROM OUR CINCINNATI ROAD TRIP, the cupboard was bare. Even the simple basics for knocking together a quick yay! we’re home! meal were depleted. We ran to the neighborhood market to quickly stock up, dashing around grabbing things because we were  so, so hungry. To my amazement, in the produce department, there was a big handsome bunch of dandelion greens. I grabbed that too and said to Terry, I’ve got a bright idea. And here we are.

Dandelion greens are a real superfood, rich in Vitamin C, K and A as well as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. The USDA says they actually have more nutritional value than spinach and broccoli. They’ve spread themselves all over the world, and are prized everywhere for their nutritional value, the medicinal uses attributed to them, and their early appearance: usually they are the first green things to appear every spring. And they have appeared on dinner tables for a very long time, a part of many Asian and European cuisines. They have also been used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than a thousand years.

So why aren’t they more popular? Well, the thing with dandelion greens, in addition to their healthy attributes, is the bitter peppery flavor. Despite their long culinary history, that bitterness is something people aren’t used to any more.

While blanching dandelion greens can reduce their bitterness, this simple, delightful pasta dish showcases the taste and the emerald beauty of the dandelion greens, tempering it with a bit of cheese and cream and meaty bites here and there. It’s surprisingly simple, a lovely weeknight dinner, but, honestly, I would serve it to guests and be glad I did.

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Pasta with Dandelion Greens

Get into the pleasantly bitter taste of super-healthy dandelion greens with weeknight-quick Pasta with Dandelion Greens.

Course Main Course, Pasta

Servings 3 or so

Ingredients

• 8 ounces linguine (we used saffron—see Kitchen Notes)
• 1/2 pound Italian sausage, sweet or spicy
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• one shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 bunch dandelion greens, washed and torn into 2-inch pieces (see Kitchen Notes)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup cream or half and half
• 1/3 cup Parmesan, grated plus more for serving
• salt, if needed

Instructions

• Start a pot of salted water for the pasta.
• Sauté the sausage in a large heavy nonstick pan, breaking it into small chunks with the spatula. When the sausage is cooked and beginning to brown, remove it from the pan and reserve in a little bowl. Wipe out the pan, then add the olive oil.
• Add the minced shallots and garlic and sauté for a minute or so. Then add in the dandelion greens and cook, stirring, over low heat, until they are soft and wilted—3 or 4 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta to al dente according to the package directions. Before you drain the pasta, ladle out a half cup of the cooking water and reserve it. Drain the cooked pasta and rinse it with hot water.
• Return the sausage to the pan with the greens and stir together. Turn off the heat.
• Ladle the half cup of the cooking water into the beaten egg and whisk it all together. Whisk in the half and half. Add the pasta to the cooking pan, stir everything, and then add in the egg-water-cream mixture. Toss everything together. Scatter on the grated Parmesan, give everything a final stir. Taste and season with salt, if needed. And that’s it. You’re done. Serve in soup plates, offering extra Parmesan for those, like me, who love cheese.

Kitchen Notes

The pasta. We used an artisan saffron linguine which we bought at a farmer’s market. The package is not labeled and, golly, we can’t remember the name of the maker. For this recipe, you can use any linear pasta you prefer. The saffron kind is nice, but not essential.

The protein. Instead of sausage, you can substitute chicken or ground lamb or omit animal protein entirely.

Buying dandelion greens. They are typically sold in bound bunches; we didn’t note the weight so can’t give you that. Look for dandelion greens which are dark green, smooth and lively looking. To prepare them, wash in cool water, pat dry, and cut or tear off the bottom, stiff part—which is mostly white stem. What to do with the other half of the bunch of greens? Sauté them with olive oil and a bit of garlic, or chop them and add to a tomato-based pasta sauce, or whirl them up in a smoothie with a banana, an apple, and some mango.