Our absolute favourite dandelion recipe is, without doubt, dandelion "honey".  It looks like honey, smells like honey and tastes like honey without exploiting any bees, making it absolutely perfect for vegans. It is absolutely delicious - enjoy!
Ingredients:-

• Roughly 1 litre of dandelion flowers picked on a dry, sunny morning - use them straightaway because they begin to close up once they are picked, and give them a good shake to knock any insects out
  

• Boiling water

• Golden caster sugar

• Squeeze of lemon juice

1. Pull all the petals from the flower heads and put into a small saucepan leaving as much of the green parts out as possible (they are bitter).

2. Cover the petals with boiling water and bring back to the boil. Turn off the heat and leave to go cold. Pour the liquid and petals into a jug and put into the fridge overnight.

3. In the morning, strain the liquid through a sieve into a measuring jug.  Squeeze the petals to get all the liquid out - they hold a surprising amount.

4. For every millilitre of liquid, weigh out the same amount in grams of golden caster sugar, i.e. 150ml of liquid = 150 grams of sugar.

5. Put the liquid and sugar into a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup is starting to bubble - don't stir. Add a squeeze of lemon juice - approximately 1 tbsp full.  Turn up the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.  Pour into sterilised jars.  The "honey" will keep for about 3 months in the fridge - if it lasts that long!

Drizzle on toast, pancakes, muffins or waffles.