Last week I wrote about my grandmother’s recipe for apple cake. Dandelion salad with hot bacon dressing is something my other grandmother, my mother’s mother, used to make when my mom was growing up in North Carolina. I never got to try her version, and I doubt that she even used a recipe, so this is my recreation, with some added pecans, because, well, pecans are delicious. I picked up these dandelion greens at the farmers’ market—these were relatively mild, but dandelion greens can be quite bitter, so select young greens for a just-right-not-overwhelming amount of bitterness.
Again, it’s been one of those crazy weeks (I was actually in North Carolina all weekend for a lovely wedding) so I’m keeping this post short and sweet. I actually might make a dandelion salad again this week because, if you can believe it, in a period of under 48 hours, I consumed steak, crab cakes, pie, breakfast sausage, more steak, barbecue, macaroni and cheese, wedding cake, biscuits and gravy, fried chicken, more biscuits, more gravy, more pie, and some kind of delicious grape salad thing, made by Andrew’s grandma, which was not a salad. So in the name of balance, and because I love green vegetables a lot anyway, I am ready for (green) salad after salad after salad this week. Maybe even (in the name of balance) salad with bacon.
- 1 large bunch dandelion greens (about 12 oz.), washed, dried, and chopped, large stems removed
- 4 thick slices bacon, chopped
- 1/2 cup pecan pieces, toasted
- 2 Tbsp finely chopped shallot
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp grainy mustard
- salt and black pepper
Serves 2 to 4
- Place the dandelion greens in a large bowl, set aside. In a small cup, stir together vinegar and mustard and set aside. Line a plate with paper towels and set aside. Over medium-high heat, cook bacon in a medium sautée pan until crisp, about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove pan from heat, and using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to the paper towel–lined plate. Add chopped shallot to the pan with the hot bacon fat, stir once, then pour over dandelion greens and stir to coat greens with the fat.
- Add about half of the vinegar mixture to the salad, stir to combine. Taste and add more of the vinegar mixture if necessary. Salt and pepper lightly, stir, then top with the crisp bacon and toasted pecans. Serve immediately.
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