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Lately I’ve been trying to increase the variety of vegetables I eat on a regular basis, especially those that are wild plants and not cultivated. Dandelion greens fit this bill perfectly, and although I was initially put off by their bitterness, I’ve grown to enjoy using them in my cooking week to week. Making them into a pesto is a great way to concentrate the flavor and save to be added to dishes here and there–try adding to stir-frys, soups, or with plantain crackers.
Here I use the dandelion pesto to add some color and kick to a simple winter squash soup. If you happen to be allergic or sensitive to coconut, you can easily substitute broth for the coconut milk in this recipe, and it would be lovely made with any kind of winter squash.
As always, blended soups freeze wonderfully, and both of these items would be great candidates for a batch-cooking and freezing routine.
- Wash the dandelion greens in a colander, removing any leaves or stems that are expired or wilted.
- Place in a food processor with the olive oil, garlic, sea salt and lemon. Process until desired consistency is reached, adding additional olive oil if the mixture is too thick.
- Use stirred into soups, eaten on plantain crackers, or mixed with stir-fried vegetables.
- 2 acorn squash, ends trimmed, halved, and de-seeded
- 2 tablespoons solid cooking fat (coconut oil, duck fat, lard, or tallow)
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- 1½ cups bone broth
- 1½ cups coconut milk
- Dandelion pesto, to taste
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Place the acorn squash face up on a baking sheet and cook for 40 minutes, or until a fork can pierce through the flesh easily. Let cool for 20 minutes, and then peel the skin off with your hands. Roughly chop and set aside to add to the soup later.
- Heat the solid cooking fat in the bottom of a heavy-bottomed pot. When the fat has melted and the pan is hot, add the onions and cook, stirring, for 8 minutes, or until they are lightly browned and translucent. Add the garlic, ginger and sea salt and cook, stirring, for a minute or two, until fragrant.
- Add the bone broth and squash to the pot and bring to a boil, and then turn down to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, until the squash starts to break up.
- Turn off the heat and carefully blend the soup in batches, returning to the pot when finished. Stir in the coconut milk.
- Serve garnished with a tablespoon or two of dandelion pesto.
18 comments
I love the idea of using dandelions. I often look at them in the fresh produce aisle of our health food store, and never knew what to do with them! Thanks for the idea 🙂
They are so tasty! I stir this pesto into everything 🙂
Mickey
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This is my first time making pesto with dandelion greens and your recipe has the perfect balance! The sweet soup combines soo well with the bitter dandelion flavor. I don’t tolerate coconut milk, but omit it and love this dish. Thank you so much for sharing it!
Glad you loved it Kendra!
This looks great! Just curious if the dandelion pesto can be frozen also? Perhaps if I mixed it in with the soup and then froze together? Thanks!
Amy,
Yes, the pesto freezes well and your idea to add to the soup before freezing is a good one!
Thanks so much for this dandelion pesto recipe idea. I make a batch to keep in the fridge and it helps to pull together a meal quickly. I did try it with the soup, like the recipe above, and it was great, and I also like it with roasted meats or roasted veggies or with sausage patties for breakfast. I tried a batch substituting a mixture of baby kale and italian parsley for the dandelion and it was really good.
Jane,
Your experimentations sound fantastic!
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I haven’t made the soup yet, but the dandelion pesto is amazing! I bought dandelion greens today, never having eaten them before, and was looking for an AIP recipe. So glad to find this! definitely bookmarking to make the squash soup as soon as I buy some squash. 🙂
Enjoy Sue!
Do you know about how many cups are in a large bunch of dandelion greens? I can just pick them in my yard.
Amy, it varies, but I am guessing about 2-3?
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