The risotto with dandelion edible flowers has a beautiful golden-yellow color; its taste and fragrance are neutral. You can choose to eat it plain or enrich it with more flavorful ingredients.
SEASON of yellow #dandelion flowers – from spring to autumn, depending on the location of collection.
RECIPES with edible flowers
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Wellness
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
- Energy 381.36 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 69.09 (g) of which sugars 2.69 (g)
- Proteins 7.24 (g)
- Fat 5.60 (g) of which saturated 0.92 (g)of which unsaturated 0.40 (g)
- Fibers 1.85 (g)
- Sodium 903.48 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 440 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Risotto with Dandelion Edible Flowers
- 5 cups Vegetable broth
- to taste Extra virgin olive oil (or peanut oil)
- 4.5 oz Fresh spring onion (or 1 white onion)
- 0.9 oz dandelion flowers (petals)
- 1.5 cups Rice
- Half glass White wine (optional)
Tools
- Pan for risottos
- Ladle wood
- Cutting Board bamboo
- Knife smooth blade, well sharpened
Risotto with Dandelion Edible Flowers
Obtain fresh flowers from uncontaminated, non-polluted fields during the middle hours of a sunny day, picking only those that are fully open. At home, leave them out in the air to allow any insects to leave. Meanwhile, they will close (due to the lack of sunlight) and will be ready for preparation.
Prepare the vegetable broth and keep it covered and warm.
Clean and wash the whole spring onion, then chop both the green part and the light bulb and sauté it in a pan with a drizzle of oil for about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, extract the petals from about 50-80 dandelion flowers by pulling them out from the closed calyx. Your fingers will be slightly stained yellow.
Let them infuse briefly, then add the rice and toast it while continuing to stir. Deglaze with half a glass of wine and pour in ladlefuls of broth as the risotto dries.
When cooking is complete, turn off the heat and add some raw extra virgin olive oil, stirring to absorb. Optionally, enrich the risotto with edible flowers using other ingredients.
ALTERNATIVES
Other edible flowers you can use to prepare this risotto: acacia (robinia), calendula, wisteria, daisies (or lawn daisies), dog rose (or wild rose), lavender (has a strong aroma, better to use it in moderation), mallow, poppy (or field poppy), marigold, red clover, sweet violet. If using dried flowers instead of fresh ones, reduce the amount. Depending on the type of flower used, add it before, halfway through, or at the end of the rice cooking.
IMPORTANT: Make sure the flowers are untreated and edible. There are many varieties, often similar, of the same plant family, and some can be poisonous.
Add:
🍀saffron or turmeric (and black pepper or fenugreek to absorb curcumin)
🍀Seasonal vegetables: asparagus, carrots, bell peppers, peas, zucchini…
🍀a grated apple halfway through cooking.
Vegetarian Variants
At the end of cooking, cream the risotto with dairy butter and Parmesan, or alternatively with creamy cheeses such as: casatella, crescenza, gorgonzola, mascarpone, ricotta, robiola, stracchino.
Scramble 2 eggs and add them in pieces to the risotto with edible flowers at the end of cooking.
Omnivorous Additions
Speck, sausage, bacon, raw or cooked ham.
