Edible Flower Recipes to Freshen Up Your Summer Menu


Spring has sprung, and there are plenty of flowers all over our gardens that are just begging to be eaten, but if you haven’t tried flowers before, that concept may feel a bit strange. Not all flowers are safe to eat, so you can’t just pick anything you see. However, the following recipes in this article aren’t just delicious, they’re also nutritious and packed with vitamins!

Flower Popsicles

On a hot summer day, popsicles can cool you down. However, if you ever thought about what it would taste like to add edible flowers to your sweet treat, follow this recipe. 

  • 1 Cup of Water
  • 1 Cup of Sugar
  • 2 tbsp to ½ Cup of Dried Flowers
  • If using fresh edible flowers, rinse and remove petals.

Add all of those ingredients to a popsicle mould and stick it in the freezer until frozen. 

Dandelion Bread Pudding

Dandelions have a bad reputation as a weed, but they’re truly beautiful flowers that hold unique properties. Eating a couple of dandelion stems a week will increase your antioxidants, reduce your cholesterol, regulate your blood sugar, and reduce inflammation. Yes, seriously!

To make dandelion bread pudding, gather your ingredients of:

  • 1 Bunch Dandelion Greens
  • 2 Garlic Cloves
  • 1 Onion
  • ¼ Sundried Tomatoes
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 ¼ cup Heavy cream
  • 1 Cup of Cheese
  • 3 Cups Cubed Day Old Bread
  1. Start heating a large skillet, then drizzle oil on top and add the onions and sundried tomatoes. Cook for 5-10 minutes until tomatoes become soft. 
  2. Add in the dandelions and salt and pepper to taste. Keep stirring until dandelions wilt.
  3. Take a bowl and whisk the cream, eggs, and cheese. Add bread last.
  4. Add dandelion mixture into the cream mixture. Fold to combine the bread and mixture.
  5. Take a deep dish baking sheet and pour the mixture inside. Let it cook for 45 minutes at 350F. Take it out of the oven and let it sit for 25 minutes. Cut in squares and serve.

Tempura Editable Flowers

For this recipe, you just need some edible flowers, tempura powder, and spices. Feel free to add any editable flower to the tempura mix, but this recipe calls for courgette flowers.

  • 6 Courgette Flowers
  • 50g Tempura Powder
  • Pepper
  • Salt
  • Tabasco

Mix the tempura in cold water and mix in the tabasco, pepper, and salt. Dip the courgette flowers in the batter and place them in a deep fryer heated at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. When cooked, remove them with a skimmer and drain with a paper towel. Serve with some spicy mayonnaise.

Candied Rose Petals

You’ll need roses, egg whites, some water, and sugar. Before you start this recipe, make sure you wash the roses thoroughly in soap and water before candying them. Otherwise, you could be eating pesticides, dirt, or other natural things that aren’t good for you to eat.

  • 2 Large Roses
  • 1 Egg White
  • 1 Cup of Sugar
  • 1 tsp. Water

Remove the rose petals from the roses carefully and place them on a cooking sheet. Next, add 1 egg white to a teaspoon of water and bush the roses with that mixture on a baking sheet. Let them sit overnight, or for at least 24 hours, and you’ll have some tasty candied rose petals!

Edible Flowers Summer Salad

The tried and true summer salad is back and better than ever. Adding a few flowers to any traditional salad will easily give it some flavor, as long as you choose the right ones.

  • 5 Ounces of Spinach
  • 1 Red Onion (Sweet Onion)
  • 6-8 Calendula Flowers
  • ¼ of Balsamic Vinaigrette 
  1. Peel and slice the onion into paper-thin round shapes. A mandoline slicer will make this part easy, but if you only have a knife cut towards the middle vertically.
  2. Put the balsamic vinaigrette dressing at the bottom of a large salad bowl.
  3. Put the spinach in the bowl, but don’t mix the dressing.
  4. Sprinkle the flowers on top.
  5. Toss the dressing before serving, or serve the dressing on the side.

 

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