Blackened Pork Loin with Dandelion Green Chimichurri

Liven up any meal with this bowl of goodness! Use this chimichurri on anything from tacos to seafood for an incredibly vibrant array of flavors!

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence (so stay away!). Maybe it’s the cold winter finally breaking me down, but when I see those greens start popping, I’m all in for trying my hand at eating ANYTHING fresh from outdoors! But in a flurry of eagerness, sometimes we let down our guard a bit with the basics of foraging. HUGE word of warning here-while this may be obvious but easy to slip the mind, dandelions are one of the most sprayed weeds, so when ‘foraging’, I would strongly suggest going somewhere quite remote, with less chance of wind carrying pesticides from any well intentioned neighbor. If all else fails, many markets or larger grocery stores will stock these in season. Running into more roadblocks-substitute for an arugula, kale or spinach and this will tastes amazing without taking any risks!

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet! Ok Romeo, this may not be breaking family feuds, but traditionally, I would not lean on a dandelion for a tasty meal. But why let that ‘weed’ name cause me pause? These leaves are great to use fresh, tossed in a bit of oil and lemon, steamed, or cooked into a recipe as you would likely treat arugula. As we transition from coarse winter greens like kale, it’s refreshing to have spring shoots, but they do bring a bit of a bitter flavor, so I prefer the pop that an acid like vinegar or lemon bring to help tame those flavors and embrace the underlying taste. Play around and have fun with these often overlooked greens!

Looking for other ways to cook with your spring greens?! Check out some of these other great recipes:

Ramp and Shiitake Mushroom Soup

Nettle Crepes with Goat Cheese, Shiitake Mushrooms and Mint

Mustard on Mustard Salad with Pickled Radish and Arugula

Swiss Chard Salad with Feta, Apple, Almonds, and a Lemon Vinaigrette

Creamed Radish Greens with Dijon Swiss Sauce

Lemon Stinging Nettle Cake

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Enjoy!

Blackened Pork Loin with Dandelion Green Chimichurri

Hannah

Add a bit of an adventure to any meal with this chimichurri! Great for anything from tacos to seafood!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Course Condiment, Garnish, Main Course

Cuisine French, Greek, Italian, Mediterranean

Servings 4

Equipment

• Cast Iron Skillet
• Kitchen knife
• Mixing bowl
• Food Processor (optional)

Ingredients

  

Pork

• 1 whole Pork Tenderloin mine was roughly 2 pounds
• 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 1 tsp Coarse Black Pepper
• 2/3 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Onion Powder

Chimichurri

• 3 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 small Shallot
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 2 handfuls Dandelion Greens about a cup chopped down
• 3 bunches Fresh Parsley about half a cup chopped down
• 1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
• 1/2 squeezed Lemon Juice
• 1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400. Heat a little oil in the cast iron skillet on the stove.
• Mix together the spice rub and generously coat the pork loin. Lay in hot skillet and sear each side until a blackened appearance starts to form (about 5 minutes on each side).
• Remove from stove and place in the oven to finish cooking until internal temperature reaches 145.
• While pork is baking, in a mixing bowl, combing olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice.

  Variation here: could use food processor to add all ingredients and pulse to a fine consistency. Or, using a knife, mince greens, shallots and garlic and add to mixing bowl.
• When pork is cooked to temp, remove and allow a few minutes to rest. Slice and top with a generous portion of the chimichurri. Great served with roasted root vegetables or wild rice!

  Enjoy!

Keyword Dandelion, Fresh, Healthy, Keto, Low-carb, Pork Loin