Theodore Kyriakou’s Fricassee of Green Dandelion Leaves

bluemoon downunder's Note:

Another of Greek chef and restaurateur Theodore Kyriakou’s unusual (well, unusual for non-Greeks!), delicious recipes, a side-dish, from his ‘real Greek food’, which he co-authored with food writer Charles Campion. Of this recipe, he says "Now you can see for yourself why rabbits so enjoy dandelions". If you cannot obtain dandelion leaves, he suggests using curly endive leaves. I've posted this recipe for the 2005 Zaar World Tour.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 35 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 kg green dandelion greens, roots trimmed and washed well (if not available, look for curly endive leaves)
• 1 kg leek, trimmed, use white section only and discard tough outer leaves, rinsed well and cut into 2 . 5 cm pi
• 1 kg romaine lettuce, washed very well, and cut into 3 equal pieces
• 130 ml olive oil
• 1 small lemon, juice of
• 50 g dill, finely chopped
• sea salt, to taste
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Drop the dandelion leaves or curly endive into a saucepan of boiling water and blanch with the lid on for 5 minutes.
2. Drain the blanching water and put the dandelion leaves or endive back in the same pot.
3. Add the leeks and 1 litre of boiling water.
4. Place the lid back on the pot and cook over a medium heat for 20 minutes.
5. Add the cos lettuce, mix everything well and put the lid back on.
6. Continue cooking over the same heat for 40 minutes, by which time the leeks should be very tender and be falling apart and the vegetable broth should taste slightly sweet with a pleasant bitter after-taste (from the dandelion leaves).
7. Season to taste, add the olive oil and cook for a further 15 minutes.
8. Remove the pan from the heat and add the lemon juice and the chopped dill.
9. Stir all the ingredients of the pot so that they are well-combined, transfer to a serving dish and serve.

Reviews

[cutecuts in S.W. Florida]

My grandpa use to make this when I was a child.It is so good..He also used the flower part of the dandelion he would rinse them and batter them and fry them..tasted like (chicken lol) mushrooms to me..