We did something totally different last week: we went foraging for food and then cooked among other things, Dandelion Fritters. Now that might not sound particularly adventurous to some, but when you consider that I live in South London – in many ways a concrete jungle – it’s about as adventurous as it gets!

Dandelion Fritters

We met up with a group from Lambeth Band of Solidarity, led by Ceri Buck and picked nettles, dandelions, lime leaves and hawthorn before returning back to the community centre to prepare a lunch that was as enjoyable as it was interesting.

Today I’m going to share my favourite recipe from the day: Dandelion Fritters

Dandelion flowers have a host of health benefits, including weight management, cleansing the skin and rejuvenating the liver. It is a fantastic ‘morning after’ drink when steeped in hot water and sweetened and drunk as a tea.Dandelions, with no stem, washed and ready

Now, in less healthy fashion, on to the fritters.

Ingredients:

  • 10-15 Dandelion flowers per person trimmed so that there’s no bitter stalk, and washed
  • 1 medium egg
  • 225ml ice-cold water
  • 100g plain flour

Optional extras:
Lemon juice
Icing sugar
Mustard
Salt
Pepper

Frying the Dandelions1.Beat the egg in a bowl and add the iced water. The water must be as cold as possible, as this prevents the batter from absorbing too much oil, keeping it light and crispy.

2.Lightly mix in the flour with a fork and beat gently. Don’t worry too much about lumps.

3.Dip the dandelions in the batter, and drop in hot oil. The oil should ideally be at 180C/350F for cooking dandelions; if the dandelions sink to the bottom of the oil, the temperature is too high.

4.Fry till golden brown, then remove and place on paper towel

5.For a sweet treat, drizzle lemon juice over, then dip in icing sugar. For a salty treat, dip in mustard, or our favourite, sprinkle over salt and pepper and enjoy!

A few tips for foraging safely:

  • Be 100% sure of the plant you’re picking to eat
  • Try to pick away from main roads or train lines as the ground is more polluted near transport routes.
  • Preferably pick in areas that haven’t been built on in the last 100 years, as these places shouldn’t have any lead piping in the ground
  • Find out if pesticides are used in the area you’re interested in
  • Make sure to pick higher up in areas where dogs are walked!
  • Pick no more than we you will consume
  • Pick no more than a third of the plant – we want new seeds and new plants next year!
  • In the UK it is illegal to uproot a whole plant in a public area or without the consent of the land owner

5 Comments

Foraging for Food – Dandelion Fritters

  1. We have no shortage of dandelions near my home but I’ve still never been adventurous enough to eat one!
    .-= Joey´s last blog ..Inarticulate homemaker =-.

  2. This recipe sounds lovely.

    Don’t for get though that Dandelions have a strong Diuretic effect so you shouldn’t consume too many (that’s why they’re known as ‘pee in the bed’)!

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