Foraging spring flowers

FOOD | Julianne Glatz

Every year of my life, violets have appeared on our dinner table. Occasionally they show up in a vase, but far more often we use them as a garnish for salads and spring vegetables, especially asparagus.

“You can eat violets?” incredulous guests always ask. Yes, you can, and dandelions too, as long as they haven’t been sprayed with chemicals – or dogs’ pee.

I’ve used violets as a garnish in lots of ways – from salads, as above, to decorations for cakes. Dandelions can be eaten for their flowers and also for their greens, which are pleasantly bitter, as with arugula.

Most often, violets appeared in my mother’s famous salad. Friends invited to dinner or inviting us to a potluck asked her, “Are you going to make your salad?” I doubt they would have refused the invitation if she’d said “no,” but having been asked, she felt an obligation to comply. It was an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink affair, what used to be known as a chef’s salad: head lettuce, croutons, cut-up cheese slices, ham and/or bacon, hardboiled eggs, all sorts of chopped raw vegetables, with Good Season’s Zesty Italian dressing – and, of course, violets when in season. It was a magnificent mashup. No matter how much she made, there was never any leftover.

Dandelion flowers weren’t used as much, although we usually had the greens in various

form. But one year, my grandmother paid me to pick dandelion flowers – a penny per blossom – to make dandelion wine. It was a good way to keep a young child occupied, although I’d become totally bored by the time I’d picked enough (several quarts) for her needs. Once it had matured, she even gave me a small sip. Yuk! I don’t know what I’d think of it now, but back then it was one of the vilest things I’d ever tasted. I don’t think my grandmother liked it much, either; she never made it again.

My daughter Ashley rummages around her yard for the ingredients in this salad, which is a treat for the eye, as well as the palate. Lots of variations are possible, such as using a hot bacon dressing (and the crisp bacon bits) for a wilted salad, or other dressings, including blue cheese or even Caesar. Adding other spring vegetables such as crisp-cooked asparagus spears is another possibility.

Ashley’s spring foraged salad For each serving:

• 1 large handful young tender dandelion greens

• 2 T.-1/4 c. chopped wild onion, ramp leaves, chives or garlic chives

• Dill and tarragon mustard vinaigrette, recipe follows

• Small handful of purple violet flowers