This is a tasty dish you can make with an ingredient that is probably growing right outside your back door.

Dandelions are everywhere, but be careful where you harvest them from. Only take them from places where you know no herbicides or pesticides have been used.

Since the greens are so close to the ground, I find it easiest to just dig up the whole plant by the root. You can add the roots to the soup if you wish. Usually you will find little flower buds nestled in where the leaves meet the roots. These are delicious, so add them to your soup, too. Rinse the greens and buds in several changes of cold water to get all the grit out. Then chop them as you would kale or any other green.

Dandelion Greens Soup

1 T olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium potatoes, sliced

2 cups broth

2 cups (or more) water

1/2 cup white wine

6 cups chopped dandelion greens

2 cooked sausages, sliced (optional)

salt and pepper

In a large pot, saute the garlic and onion in the olive oil until the onion is translucent. Add the potatoes and saute a few more minutes. Add the broth, 2 cups of water, and wine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, about ten minutes. Add the greens and the sausage and more water as needed, and simmer about 5 more minutes, until the greens are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In the batch I made last night, I used nettle tea (the cooking water leftover from nettles I cooked the other day) but any kind of vegetable broth, or chicken or beef broth, would work as well. For the sausage, I used chicken garlic sausage but I am sure other kinds of sausage would be good too, or bacon.