In the kitchen
I remember that as a child I didn’t like lettuce and everything that looked like it. I claimed that it was all just a slightly different grass and that it was for rabbits. And I’m not a rabbit!
My mother was a smart woman. She knew that it wouldn’t help if she forced me, or made up platitudes like I needed vitamins, fiber and who knows what else.
Over the years, I started eating lettuce too, I just outgrew my childish stubbornness.
And I also learned different customs. So the first time I was in New York, I was invited to my friends’ house for dinner. And they put portions of lettuce on the table, among other things. And I realized that they eat the salad first and only then the main course. So I stopped waiting for that steak. In our country, it’s customary to eat salad together with the main course.
Some time later, I was invited to my old uncle’s restaurant in the town of Painesville, Ohio. And he asked me in a very archaic Slovenian if I wanted a salad like they eat here or “our way”, that is, with vinegar and oil.
I have always been disgusted by salad with various dressings. And I finally realized that, at least in the US, I have to ask for Italian dressing. Which meant oil, vinegar and a little Italian spices. Which is closest to my taste.
Although, after all, I rarely order salad in restaurants, because I usually have a glass of wine or a beer, depending on the dish.
Of course, at home I often treat myself to a salad meal. Because it is supposedly good for health.
Since it is spring now, dandelions are growing in the meadows. Dandelion is one of the most popular salads in Slovenia. In spring, you can see crowds walking through the meadows with bags and knives in their hands. And they are picking dandelions.
There is a story about a well known journalist, MM, who was a newspaper correspondent from New York for many years. One day he passed a Chinese vegetable vendor and got into a conversation with him. He complained that he could not find dandelions for salad in New York. He described to him what the plant looked like. When he passed by a few days later, the vendor gently pointed to the corner of the stall. And there was a bunch of dandelions, along with yellow flowers.
And what is a dandelion anyway?
Taraxacum officinale, the dandelion or common dandelion,[6] is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae. The common dandelion is well-known for its yellow flower heads that turn into round balls of many silver-tufted fruits, which disperse in the wind. These balls are sometimes called “clocks” or “blowballs”. Originally native to Eurasia, as a result of its hardiness and easy propagation, the dandelion has become widely established across several continents. The dandelion is often considered a weed, especially in lawns, but it is increasingly being recognized in its native regions as useful for attracting birds and pollinating insects.
The plant has several culinary uses: the flowers are used to make dandelion wine, the greens are used in salads, the roots have been used to make a coffee substitute (when baked and ground into powder) and the plant was used by Native Americans as a food and medicine.
It has been used in traditional medicine in Europe, North America, and China.
So, we said dandelion salad.
As mentioned, you can organize a trip to the countryside and, if a farmer doesn’t chase you away, pick dandelions. It’s a good idea to check that the meadow is not grazed by livestock and that it is not polluted. For those who are more comfortable, you can buy dandelions at a farmers’ market. Although the origin of that dandelion may be unclear.
So you need dandelions, which you must wash and clean well.
Hard-boiled eggs, boiled potatoes, cracklings, some boiled beans, pumpkin seed oil, apple cider vinegar, a clove of garlic, and a pinch of ground pepper to taste.
Put all the ingredients in a salad bowl. Slice the potatoes while they are still warm and place them over the dandelions. Warm potatoes soften the dandelions, which, if they are not very young, tend to be tough.
Heat the fat with the cracklings in a pan and pour it over the salad while it’s still hot.
Season to taste. Enjoy a large piece of homemade bread with it.
And don’t forget a glass of good wine.
And last but not least, let your imagination run free.