My weed books refer to the white part of the dandelion that connects the root to the leaves as the “crown”, but the term is confusing. Crowns are at the top of things, where the blossom on a dandelion is. As I was picking dandelions this afternoon for both this post and for a side dish to tonight’s Cassoulet-style Chicken dinner, it occurred to me that this part of the dandelion is the dandelion ‘heart’, just like the heart of celery, or the artichoke heart.

So, from now on, I’m calling them “dandelion hearts”.

Pick, trim and clean as many dandelion hearts as you wish to serve. I halve or quarter the larger hearts so that they are all a uniform bite size.

Previously, I’ve blanched them in boiling water for two minutes as is recommended to reduce the bitterness associated with dandelions, but I’m going to skip that step tonight to see what they’re like full-strength.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and sauté the dandelion hearts with a chopped clove of garlic until the hearts are tender.

Sprinkle with lemon juice and a dash of sea salt.

"How would you describe the taste?" I asked Hannah as we dined.

"I don't think they have much of a taste," she replied. "I thought we eat them because they're supposed to be good for you."

To me, they taste like mild brussel sprouts. Which gives me some new ideas about how to cook with dandelion hearts.

Brussel sprouts, or 'generic vegetable flavour".