Local products15 May 2016

Recipe of the Week: Dandelion and Primrose salad

Keeping with the theme of edible and medicinal plants here is a delicious gourmet herbs and flowers salad!

Credits: Il Giardino di Pimpinella

Credits: Il Giardino di Pimpinella

Keeping with the theme of edible and medicinal plants here is a delicious gourmet herbs and flowers salad!

Dandelion (Taraxacum), is a wild plant widespread in Europe, well known by gourmet chefs as it is excellent in salads. It has a large amount of vitamin A, potassium, selenium, zinc, magnesium; additionally, dandelion has many medicinal properties such as cleansing, tonic, digestive, and laxative.

Also, both Wild primroses' (Primula vulgaris L.) flowers and leaves are delicious in salads, one just needs to be careful to collect the tender leaves and those not entirely opened yet. Primeroses are high in vitamin C and minerals. The flowers, in particular, contain flavonoids and carotene, which have an antioxidant action. Primroses also contain a fragrant oil and Primulin, two natural substances similar to salicylic acid, the active ingredient of aspirin. Hence, primroses are natural analgesics, and especially useful for light headaches, or as anti-inflammatories for cough prevention and febrifuge. They also have calming properties, especially for anxiety and insomnia.

Ingredients for 4 people:

  • fresh dandelion 400 gr
  • 30 wild primroses
  • 350 gr primrose leaves
  • extra virgin olive oil 4 tablespoons
  • balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons
  • chopped chives 1 tablespoon
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Wash the herbs and flowers, removing the soil from the roots of the dandelion.
  2. Prepare a vinaigrette with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper  
  3. Pour the vinaigrette on the salad just before serving and sprinkle with chopped chives
  4. Serve fresh!



Deborah Bellotti

International editions:   English | Deutsch | Russian