A classic salad method used for different types of chicory, salade de pissenlits is a fresh dandelion salad tossed with a warm dressing of bacon and a splash of vinegar. While the strong flavor can be an acquired taste, rich eggs and bacon help cut through the bitterness and make it a filling meal. There's a few key points to know, read on and we'll go over the basics.
In the United States, people of a certain age may see a dandelion salad as a edible punishment from the Depression Era. American cultural stigma is real, and I won't bring it to Grandma's house anytime soon unless I use different chicory greens like frisee (or just spinach). But, if you prepare and season it like you care, it's quite good.
If you have some, this is also the perfect place for some homemade bacon, pancetta, or alternatives like beef bacon cut into lardons / batons.
Chef's Tips
- Dandelion greens harvested before flowering will have the mildest flavor and most tender texture.
- Homemade bacon, pancetta or guanciale can be used instead of regular bacon.
- Dandelions grown in the shade will have a milder flavor than those in full sun.
- This is a great place to use cultivated red dandelions sold at coops which are always harvested before flowering.
- Cultivated dandelions will have much more leafy green portions than wild ones. Remove their stems to save for soup or braised greens.
- While not traditional, shavings of good parmesan and a few leaves of chopped tarragon or sliced mint bring it to another level.
- Some wild lettuces, especially Lactuca canadensis are even better than dandelions here and have a longer window for harvesting before the plants flower and become tough.
- The hot-dressing method can be used with many greens. If you want a milder version check out my spinach-mushroom salad with bacon dressing.
How to Make Dandelion Salad
First young dandelions are harvested before the plant flowers. The greens are soaked in cold water to refresh them and remove any dirt of debris.
After they've perked up from soaking in water, the greens are spun dry or wrapped in a clean towel. It's very important the greens are as dry as possible so water doesn't dilute the dressing. Next the greens are cut into 1 inch pieces.
After the greens are cleaned, cook some bacon until the fat's rendered and it's nearly crisp. Drain off most of the fat and save it for cooking eggs. Sometimes I add a knife tip of minced garlic to the pan for a moment before adding the vinegar.
Add vinegar to the pan off the heat and stir with a wooden spoon to infuse the browned bits into the dressing. I used my homemade blackcap raspberry vinegar, but red wine vinegar works fine too.
Immediately pour the hot bacon dressing over the greens and mix them well, seasoning with a little salt and pepper to taste.
While you prepare the salad you'll cook some eggs. Hard boiled eggs are traditional in recipes like this too, but since you'll have bacon fat leftover it's a good time to practice cooking the perfect sunny side up egg.
The Perfect Egg Sunny Side Up
A great tip I learned from The Food Lab I insisted my line cooks use was to allow eggs to drain in a small strainer before cooking. This removes excess albumen, giving you fried eggs with perfect, clean edges.
Finally, divide the greens between two plates, top with the hot egg, garnish with chives, a few curls of parmesan, and dandelion flower petals.
Related Posts
- Lebanese Dandelions with Caramelized Onions: Hindbeh
- How to Cook Dandelion Hearts
- Foragers Guide to Dandelions
French Dandelion Salad with Bacon (Salade de Pissenlits)
Equipment
- 1 Medium mixing bowl
- 1 Tongs
- 1 10 inch saute pan
- 1 Non-stick pan for cooking eggs such as carbon steel, teflon or cast iron
Ingredients
- 2 oz fresh dandelion greens *see note roughly 2 loosely packed cups harvested before the flowers form
- 3 oz bacon (2 slices) cut into 1 inch slices
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 small clove of garlic minced (optional)
- 2 large eggs or hard boiled eggs optional
- Shavings of fresh high quality parmesan cheese such as Parmigiano Reggiano
- Fresh ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon fresh cut chives
- A few sliced leaves of fresh mint, tarragon or basil (optional)
- 1 Dandlelion flower to garnish (optional)
Instructions
Salad
- Wash and clean the dandelion greens then wrap them in a clean towel or spin them dry. Make sure the greens are perfectly dry so they don’t dilute the dressing.
- Cut the greens into 1-2 inch pieces. If using cultivated dandelions, remove most of the stem so you have mostly the leafy upper portion.
- In a stainless steel saute pan or cast iron skillet, heat the bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp and the fat has rendered out.
- Drain off most of the fat, leaving about 2-3 teaspoons in the pan.
- Remove the pan from the heat, and, while it’s still very hot, add the vinegar and stir quickly with a wooden spoon to remove the browned bits.
- Immediately pour the hot bacon-vinegar mixture onto the dandelion leaves and mix well, adding the maple syrup and herbs.
- Taste the salad and adjust the seasoning for salt, pepper and acid. A dash of fresh squeezed lemon juice (½ tsp) can be nice at the end.
Eggs
- Meanwhile, use the bacon fat to fry two large eggs sunny side, over easy, or however you like. For the perfect sunny side egg, drain the eggs briefly in a small strainer to remove excess albumen/egg white before cooking.
Plating
- Divide the greens between two salad plates. Place the eggs on top. Garnish with chives, curls of parmesan cheese, fresh cracked pepper and dandelion flower petals and serve.
Mike Moranz
I like this salad with lots of sweet vidalia onions. Some sauteed in your hot dressing with just enough sugar for sweet sour balance and some more raw diced make for a very mealable salad.
Alan Bergo
Hey Mike. That reminds me of the Hindbeh where chicory is cooked with lots of caramelized onions. It's a great counterpoint to the bitterness. I don't usually put cooked onions in salads like this, but pickled shallots or scallions add a nice pop of flavor. The version I used to serve with sauteed mushrooms with the bacon was fun too.
Leah Carlson
This is so similar to the recipe my grandmother passed down from my great-grandmother. She used to make a version of this in Ottertail County, Minnesota: brown sugar, hard-boiled egg, bacon, and a bit of vinegar. I make it annually as a tradition. Thanks for all you do. I so appreciate you 🙂
Alan Bergo
Leah! I didn't expect to hear about a family version from Minnesota! Now I need to ask my Grandma if Great Grandma made something similar on our farm near Grove City. Thank you.
LaRae
Everything is better with bacon!
Alan Bergo
A little vitamin P never hurt anything. 🙂
Jay
Is the "dandelion" you're describing what is sold as Catalogna chickory? If so, it's very good in a typical garden salad but I haven't tried this. It looks good. It just went on the list.
As a related question, since I can't get guanciale, which I prefer over commercial bacon, is salt and a refrigerator sufficient to cure pork jowl?
Thanks
Alan Bergo
Hey Jay. Catalogna chicory should be Chicorium intybus, which are chicory greens. They’re similar and I can buy them at Middle Eastern Markets occasionally. They’re just as good as dandelions, and the cultivated ones are really mild and pleasant.
As for guanciale, it’s a little more complicated than just salt. Since it’s not cooked it’s almost closer salami than bacon. You’ll need to cure it with salt and instacure no2-not instacure no 1 which you’d use for bacon and ham. After curing it’s hung to dry for a few weeks, just like pancetta.
You can easily make cured meats like this at home using a product my friends make called the UMAi Dray bag that lets you dry age meat in the fridge without making a chamber like charcuterie buffs will do. Here's their website. If you want to know more their I'm happy to expand on it.
Jay
Thank you for the tips! I like the Catalogna chicory as well as real dandelion greens (Taraxacum.) when oregano gets too strong for a pleasant pesto.
I'll have to reconsider buying fresh pork jowls.
Thanks!
-- jay
Alan Bergo
Thanks Jay.
Tim Maguire
Thank you so much, Alan.
I always have plenty of Young dandelions popping up in the garden so I will definitely give this a shot. I’m sure you’re right that the hot dressing will help and I look forward to finding out.
Alan Bergo
I'll admit most of the time I cook my greens, but when I access to young ones it's a nice change of pace. You can add other greens too, lettuces, arugula, et al.
Carolyn
Haha! I didn't know that appalachian kilt salad had such fancy French bona fides -- how cool. I think I've got some wild lettuce out back, so maybe this is in my future 🙂
Alan Bergo
Oh I’d forgotten about that version! “Killed salad”, if I remember right.