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AMISH COUNTRY, COOKING, GARDENING, RECIPES

Dandelion Gravy: A true tonic of spring

Harvest dandelion greens BEFORE the yellow flowers appear. After the flowers are present the greens will have a much more bitter flavor.

(Editor's Note: This old-time recipe was submitted by Nancy Hostetler, mother of Web Designer Diane Hostetler. Try it this spring!)

My mother remembers my grandma making this nearly every spring. It was a spring tonic, just what one needed after a long, cold winter.

My memories of it are the somewhat bitter taste of the dandelion which as a child I did not care for. But as spring came on with the rains and greening grass, I saw dandelion growing too, and I wondered if my adult palate might be more appreciative of this delicacy. And so I invited my mother to my house for supper to teach me how to make it. She brought the ingredients for the dandelion gravy and I made a bar-b-q chicken breast for each of us. We mashed the potatoes on our plates and spooned the gravy over them. Wow! Was it ever good! Better than my childhood memories, and now I have a new memory of cooking with my mom and learning a new recipe. Try it yourself this season!

Old-Fashioned Dandelion Gravy

Nancy Hostetler

My mother remembers my grandma making this nearly every spring. It was a spring tonic, just what one needed after a long, cold winter...

Ingredients

6–7 slices bacon
2 T. flour
2 T. sugar
2 T. vinegar
2 eggs
some water
salt and pepper to taste
fresh dandelion greens*
2 hard-boiled eggs

Instructions

Chop bacon in 1″ pieces and fry in pan. When it is crispy, drain on a paper towel.
Dispose of the grease but keep about a tablespoon of it in the pan.
In a bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, vinegar, and eggs. Add enough water to make a thin paste consistency.
Stir this into the bacon grease and cook till thickened -gravy consistency.
Add washed dandelion greens, stirring in just to wilt.
Slice the hard-boiled eggs on top and crumble the bacon on top of the eggs.
Serve over salt-water boiled potatoes, mashed if desired.