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What’s in the Italian Farmer’s Market this month? Dandelions. Growing up we would call them “cicorie”as they are in the same family but the correct name is actually,“dente di leone”
Growing up in an Italian American family,we did plenty of things that made our neighbors think we were a little “off.”One of them was picking and eating dandelions in the spring. Grab a knife and a plastic bag and head to an open field for some picking……dandelions are delicious! I like mine boiled for a few minutes (takes away some of the bitterness) and then fried in some extra virgin olive oil (product of Italy of course) and garlic. Then season with salt,pepper and grated cheese. Enjoy and Buona appetito! 
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I remember when my husband and I started dating and he saw my dad picking dandelions in the backyard. He turned to me and said “what the hell is your dad picking?”My dad then turned to him and said “isn’t that a beautiful thing?”and we had it for dinner. He almost died hahaha,but he not LOVES the dish (as do I). We also boil them but then we mix them with white beans and some pork fat thrown in there for flavor. Mmm,some crusty home made bread to go along with it,you’ve got yourself one amazing meal! Yummy!
right on Maria…. una bella minestra!
Milan,Italy. I heard so much in that place.
Early mornings,in the clearing mist you see the old guys around here with their sharp knives and bulging plastic bags. Dandelions and wild rucola. I’ve tried the wild rucola which is fantastic,much coarser than farmed stuff with an intense peppery tang. In fact it would be fair to say I am almost addicted to the complicated flavour of rucola and would happily eat it with everything. I am now really looking forward to trying the dandelions too. Thanks for the cooking tip recipe guy:) –Amanda
Too funny Joe. I just read about this very thing last night in Michael Tuckers (you know,from LA Law fame) new book.
He bought a house in Umbria and cooked up some dandelion…just as you recommend!!
I’ll have to try this. I love you Italians….you make the best out of everything on the land!!
Great post! I too remember scouring our town when I was a kid for chicoria spots with my mother. All the Italian immigrants had their own favorite spot and were very secretive about them…We’d stealthily head out armed with plastic bags and knives,hoping nobody would see us =)
We also used to go to the local park and gather chestnuts. Did your family do this too?
Funny thing:when I went back to US to visit in the fall,my mom told me about a chestnut tree her keen eyes had spotted in front of a high school near her home. Since she didn’t want other people finding out about this (by other people I mean Italians,because I highly doubt Americans would pick their produce off the ground OR even know what to do with a chestnut) we had to go there after school got out and just before it got dark. We managed to fill 2 shopping bags with plump chestnuts…as we were walking home,a car beeped at us and lo and behold- a family friend,who just so happens to be Italian,spotted us and our booty!!!! Being the clever lady she is,my mom threw them off by saying- “Oh,I don’t think these chestnuts are any good,I think they’re full of worms”. But between you &me,they weren’t,they were damn tasty!
Thanks for stopping by Raffy.
I wish we had wild rucola around here Amanda. Recipe guy?…. getting better:)
Robin…I was just thinking that if gas prices keep going up,I might have to bypass the g-store all together.
Romerican,I love it! It’s always a secret. Your mom did well. Apparently there was some sort of disease that killed off a lot of Chestnut trees around here in the 60s/70s,so my dad planted a Chestnut in his backyard…it doesn’t produce many as there is only one tree. Where’s the one you mention? Ha ha! it’s a secret.