Dandelion Flower-Head Fritters

Picking a dandelion on a foraging course

Jar of wild dandelion flowers from a foraging walk

These fun, quick fritters are the first dessert I ever made with dandelions. They are great dusted with icing sugar, dipped in Dandelion Flower Syrup or served with a wild ice cream of your choice.

If you'd like to find out more about dandelions and their edibility, I have 4 dandelion recipes in my Wild and Sweet cookbook - amongst 101 wild and seasonal desserts. I also have a blog on: 5 reasons to eat dandelions or dandelion root coffee recipe.

Serves 6

Ingredients

200 ml (⅘ cup) ice-cold water or milk
1 large egg, beaten
90 g sifted flour (plain, buckwheat or other)
2–3 ice cubes
Sunflower oil, for frying
30 dandelion flower heads, stalks intact

Picking dandelion flowers on a quiet Cornish lane

Cover a couple of large plates with kitchen paper. Pour the ice-cold water into a mixing bowl, mix in the egg, add the flour and roughly fold it in with a fork. Do not beat it – the batter should be lumpy. Add the ice cubes.

Heat at least 2.5 cm oil in a wok or a frying pan. The oil is hot enough when a drop of batter bubbles and turns golden in 5–10 seconds. Hold a flower head by the stalk, wipe it through the batter to coat it all over, allowing any excess batter to drip off. Keep hold of the stem while dropping the coated flower head into the oil. Using the stalk, turn it if necessary and cook until golden and crisp, then remove and place on the kitchen paper. Repeat with all the flower heads. To serve, either snip off the stems or eat the flower heads and discard the stems as you eat them.