Feed The Resistance: Dandelion Pesto is paired with “Unshadowed” from Ale Asylum.

Spring has sprung, the grass is riz…and so have the DANDELIONS!  Inspired by “No Mow May,” I decided that instead of cursing the dandelions this year, I would celebrate the beauty and the flavor of them!  An article in bon appetit magazine suggests using the greens in salads, smoothies, fritters and more.  They said the stems could be used for a disposable, eco-friendly straw, and the roots make a good coffee replacement.  I went with pesto!  I’ve now made this pesto a couple of times and it is delicious on pasta, pizza, or the way I served it today – on a piece of toast with a sliced tomato and some mozzarella cheese!

A couple of warnings about cooking with dandelions…first and foremost – make sure that you are harvesting from a place that you KNOW has not been sprayed with pesticides.  Secondly – as the season goes on, the greens get more bitter, so harvest early in the season, and make a lot of pesto.  You can freeze the leftovers, simply fill an ice-cube tray with pesto, and then pop out a cube at a time, as you need it.

Dee paired the pesto with Ale Asylum’s “Unshadowed” Hefeweizen.  She said that dandelions brought thoughts of springtime – and nothing is better in spring, than a can of Unshadowed!