Cooking With Dandelion & Quince

I was checking out a new wine store in town yesterday, and spotted this cookbook on a shelf.  Dandelion & Quince by Michelle McKenzie. Just couldn't resist! The photography was beautiful, the recipes unique and experimental, with wonderful combinations of little used fruits, vegetables and herbs.  Definitely my sort of book.  And one I will be giving as gifts.

There are so many things I want to try.  Which goal, however does require assembling some ingredients not usually on my list. Burdock... yes, I've seen it in the market here, also known as gobo.  It's popular in Japanese cooking. Though I had no idea as to its flavor profile, possibilities and excellent nutrition. Cardoons?  No, we don't see them in Hawaii.  But, learning from her techniques, we can substitute with things that do grow here.  Experimentation is the note of the day. Opening ourselves up to new ingredients and ways of combining them.

From the Publishers notes:

"Dandelion and Quince features plant profiles—from dandelion to quince—for over 35 uncommon vegetables, fruits, and herbs available in today's markets—with over 150 recipes that explore their flavors.
This illustrated cookbook celebrates the abundance at farmers' market and local grocery store yet to be discovered by the everyday cook. From mustard and kumquats to nettles, fava leaves, sunchokes and more, the blossoms, berries, leaves, and roots featured in Dandelion & Quince are simple foods that satisfy our need for a diversity of plant life in our diets, grown with care and prepared by our own hands for our families and communities."

"A beautiful tribute to so many of my favorite vegetables, fruits, and herbs; and Michelle McKenzie knows exactly how to treat them—with curiosity, love, and respect.”—Alice Waters

My first inspiration was to use some dandelion greens, which I recently noticed, have nicely established themselves in a random pot. Thriving even. I do know that they're good and useful in cooking, but they usually get ignored. However, last night we put them to good use with some other greens from the garden in a dinner salad featuring chicken and feta cheese.  

Today, I combined a bit of angel hair pasta, squash blossom, and grated Gruyere cheese with some slivered galangal leaves.  Previously I'd only used the aromatic root, but have discovered that the leaves also have a lovely spicy flavor.  This was an experimental lunch, curtesy of Ms. McKenzie.  

Tonight I'm concocting a take on her roast asparagus with various additions, including daikon, dandelion and arugula. Many more recipes and ideas have now been bookmarked, and I'm looking forward  to trying them.The asparagus turned out beautifully, served alongside a bit of chicken and tomato pasta.  I liked her idea of plating the asparagus with the greens and radish (I used daikon, another of McKenzie's "unusual" vegetable suggestions) tossed on top.

.This post will be shared with Weekend Cooking, hosted by Marge, The Intrepid Reader, and with Heather's February edition of the  Foodies Read Challenge. I do hope that you'll stop by and check out all the good food and book ideas.