This morning I tried something new for breakfast: I made dandelion pancakes. Let me tell you, they were DELICIOUS!
Please bear with me, it is as difficult for me to describe flavors as it is for me to describe scents and how I want my hair cut - but I will give it my best shot:
First of all, when you bite in to them, they are sweet, but not overpoweringly so. Then you taste the dandelion. When cooked, dandelions taste like you
thought those garden flowers, or your lawn would taste when you were a small child... before you actually shoved them in your mouth and found out how bitter they are!! (Yuck!) Dandelions taste sort-of like chewing on the end of a piece of sweet hay or sweet grass. They taste a bit like the most caramelized part of a piece of barbecued asparagus when someone actually cooks asparagus properly, only more subtle. They taste like you want spring to taste.
Dandelion pancakes are easy to make. They are also inexpensive, because, let's face it: nearly everyone in the U.S. has dandelions in their lawn, in a nearby park, or can find some along a road side for free. They are also pretty nutritious and full of fiber etc. If you are interested in the nutrition facts on dandelions, please visit the following:
link. Otherwise, let's get back to how to make this yummy recipe.
Ingredients: 2 cups of dandelion flowers, 2 cups of instant pancake mix, 1 1/2 cups milk (or buttermilk), 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie mix (or cinnamon), 1/2 tablespoon local honey, and 2 tablespoons of butter.
You will also need: a bowl, measuring cups, measuring spoons, frying pan, spoon, spatula and stove.
Directions:
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First, go foraging for dandelions and harvest just the flower tops. You
will need to collect about 2 cups full. |
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| Next, rinse the flowers well. Then, pop off the base of the flower (where the sepals are) and compost them. Keep the yellow petals. The thick, green, portion of the flower is bitter tasting. You do not want it in the
pancake mix. | | |
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| Then, place the dandelion petals in a bowl and mix them together with 2 cups of the dry
components of your favorite pancake mix. You can use store bought, or
can mix your own. If you need a recipe to make pancake mix at home,
this one by Alton Brown is very good: pancake mix recipe. |
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| Add 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin spice mix (or cinnamon) and 1/2 tablespoon of
honey to the dandelion/pancake flour mixture. Avoid adding more than
what is suggested because you want to avoid over-powering the taste of
the dandelions. You only want to enhance their flavor, not drown it
out. |
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| Then, add 1 1/2 cups of the wet components of the pancake batter to the
mix (usually either milk, buttermilk or water as directed by the pancake
recipe or box mix that you are using). Stir together well. The mix
will be thicker than that of regular pancakes. |
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| Next, heat your favorite frying pan along with about a tablespoon of
butter to medium heat (as you would when cooking regular pancakes.) |
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| Spoon about 1/4 cup of the mixture into the pan using a measuring cup,
ice cream scoop or spoon. You may have to press the mixture flat with a
spatula because the mixture is thick. |
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| Cook the pancake for a few minutes... |
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| ...Then flip it to the other side and cook for a few more minutes. The pancake should appear golden brown on both sides. |
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| Serve and enjoy... perhaps with a side of bacon?!? |
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| Fin! |
