In keeping with our flowery spring fever theme, here are a few recipes featuring edible flowers both wild and domestic. Common edible flowers include pansies, roses, carnation, jasmine, geranium, violet, nasturtiums, marigolds, primrose, elderflower, honeysuckle and lilac.
Shortbread Cookies with Pretty Pansy Tops
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks) at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste
- assorted fresh pansies, you’ll need about 30, give or take
Instructions
- Put the sugar and soft butter into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine completely.
- Add the flour and extract, and pulse about 10 times, then run the machine briefly, just until the dough comes together into a lump or lumps.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and bring together into a smooth flat disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm enough to roll, about 2 hours.
- While the dough is chilling, remove the stems from the pansies, and place them on a large sheet of waxed paper, or parchment paper. Place another sheet on top, and press the flowers for at least 30 minutes to get them nice and flat. You can plan ahead and press overnight as well.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325F
- Roll out the dough to a 1/8-to-1/4-inch thickness and cut out with a cookie cutter. Two and two and one half inch cutters work well.
- Bake the cookies in batches, 1 tray at a time. Bake the smaller cookies for 7-8 minutes, and the larger ones for 9-11 minutes, depending on thickness. Your cookies will not brown, they will be pale and soft when done.
- Remove tray from oven and gently press the flat pansies onto the hot cookies, You don’t need press too hard, the heat of the cookies will make them adhere. Sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar. Let the cookies cool completely on a rack.
- Note: the cookies will be soft when they come out of the oven but will firm up as they cool.
Crostini with Edible Flowers and Ricotta
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 1 cup frozen sweet peas
- 2/3 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed and halved
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Freshly ground pepper
- 6 thick slices ciabatta bread
- 1/2 cup pea shoots, trimmed
- Edible flowers, for garnish
Directions
- Fill a medium sauce pan with water, add a dash of salt and bring to a boil. Add the sweet peas and cook until bright green, about 30 seconds. Save the water, remove peas with a slotted spoon and use a colander to drain. Run the peas under cold water until cool. Return the saucepan of water to a boil and repeat with the sugar snap peas; remove, run under cold water until cool and blot dry.
- Preheat the broiler. Pulse all but 2 tablespoons of the sweet peas in a food processor with the ricotta, parmesan, 2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, a large pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper until smooth.
- Arrange the ciabatta on a baking sheet and broil until toasted and charred around the edges, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Spread the ricotta mixture on the toasts.
- Combine the reserved sweet peas with the sugar snap peas, pea shoots, lemon juice and the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a bowl. Toss well and season with salt and pepper. Divide the pea mixture among the crostini and top with edible flowers.
Pansy Salad
Ingredients
- 6 cups baby arugula
- 1 apple, very thinly sliced
- 1 carrot
- 1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced
- handful of assorted fresh herbs such as basil, oregano, thyme, leaves only
- 1-2 ounces creamy goat cheese, use crushed pistachios for vegan
- pansies, stems removed
- vinaigrette
- juice of 1 blood orange, about 1/4 cup
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2-3 Tbsp champagne vinegar, or other mild white vinegar
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Whisk together the vinaigrette, adjusting any of the ingredients to your taste.
- Pile the greens into a wide salad bowl.
- Peel and shave the carrot into thin strips using a vegetable peeler. Add to the greens along with the apple slices, onion, and herbs. Toss. with the dressing and garnish the salad with crumbles of goat cheese and the pansies. Serve immediately.
