Seasonal Recipes

Hot and Sour Spinach and Dandelion Greens Soup

1 tablespoon butter

3 cloves fresh garlic or 3 fresh garlic scapes, chopped

½ cup fresh chives, chopped

¼ teaspoon white pepper

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

3 cups Basic Chicken Stock

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

2 cups fresh dandelion greens, chopped

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 whole egg

Serves four
In a soup pot melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the garlic or garlic scapes and chives, and sauté for 2 to

3 minutes until the chives are wilted. Add the white pepper, crushed red pepper flakes and 2 ½ cups of the stock, reserving ½ cup of stock. Bring to a boil.

Thoroughly mix the cornstarch into the reserved ½ cup of stock. Add 1 ladle of the hot soup to the stock and

cornstarch, and mix until smooth. Add this mix back to the soup pot, stir and reduce to a simmer.

In a large sauté pan, heat the sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add the honey, lemon juice, spinach, dandelion greens

and sauté for approximately 1 minute, or until the greens are wilted. Add the rice wine vinegar and stir.

Add the spinach and dandelion mixture to the soup pot. Stir.

In a small bowl lightly beat the egg. Add to the soup, and stir gently. When the egg is cooked, remove the soup from

heat and serve.

harvest hint

This is a local version of a Chinese hot and sour soup, and is a delicious way to sample dandelion greens if you are not familiar with them. The best time of year to pick and eat dandelion greens is in the spring, when they are young and tender.