Edible Weeds
From the Kitchen of: ArtLab
For our younger chefs: Remember to ask for help from an adult when completing these recipes, but most of all have fun!
How to forage safely
Spring is a very good time to start foraging (finding and picking wild foods to eat).
1) You can forage in your garden or in public spaces that you have permission to access.
2) Know what you’re picking, and only collect a wild plant that you can identify.
3) Collect enough things for you and your recipes and make sure you leave plenty of things for other people to pick.
4) Leave enough plants for wildlife to avoid damaging their homes and habitats.
Dandelion, a bright yellow weed, has a honey flavour and makes tasty biscuits. The whole dandelion plant is edible and people use it to make tea, wine and salads.
Take a bag when you go out for a walk or look in your garden and pick about 20 dandelion heads (the yellow flower part) and follow the recipe below.
What you will need
- big mixing bowl
- fine grater
- wooden spoon
- tablespoon
- baking tray (greased)
- 2 small bowls
- 20 dandelion flower heads
- 1 egg
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 100g sugar
- 125g soft butter
- 200g self-raising flour
- pinch of salt
Method:
- Wash the dandelion heads then carefully remove the yellow petals by pinching firmly and pulling (a little bit of green is OK but too much will make the biscuits bitter)
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/350F or gas mark 4 - In a big mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar and stir until creamy and soft
- In another bowl whisk the egg and add the lemon juice, then pour this mixture into the big mixing bowl
- Grate the lemon zest and stir in
- Slowly add the flour, sugar and a pinch of salt to your mixture bit by bit to make sure it is mixed in well
- Stir in the dandelion petals, you should have a sticky dough now
- Use a tablespoon to put about 4-6 dollops of the mixture onto a light-greased baking tray
- Squash the mound of dough so it is a little flatter
- Place the tray in the middle of the oven and bake for 13-16 minutes, until they start to brown
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack
Have you tried this recipe? Share your creations with us by including the hashtag #Baltic20 on social media. Happy cooking!
