EVERY SPRING, there is a rush to harvest something from the garden and get it to the table. Usually, asparagus plays a star role in the culinary celebration of spring. And for the next few weeks, photos of asparagus -- its midsection trussed with more ribbons than a starlet at the Academy Awards -- will be thrust upon us.

I have never had much luck growing asparagus. But I do grow dandelions.

They pop out of the ground in my back yard and, no matter how many times I try to yank them out by their roots, they not only recover, but thrive.

So the other day when I found a recipe for a salad made with dandelion greens, walnuts and goat cheese, I decided to give it a try.

I am not a big fan of eating weeds. But the cookbook that carried the recipe told me something I didn't know. According to "Spring" by Joan Weir, a 1997 publication that is part of the Williams-Sonoma seasonal celebration books, dandelions are at the top of their form, at least for eating purposes, in early spring. They are short and tender then, and not yet as bitter as they become when they get taller and older.

I looked at some of the other ingredients in the recipe -- goat cheese, olive oil and walnut oil -- and figured that their flavors were so strong and pleasing that they could rescue the salad if the dandelions tried to get uppity.

Moreover, I couldn't wait to place a dandelion salad in front of one of my kids. The older kid, 18, will try almost any dish. But the second child, 14, is a suspicious eater.

If, for instance, any green other than romaine lettuce is placed in the salad, this kid questions the contents, dismissing such salads as "jungle leaves." He acts as if he is being asked to eat weeds.

The dandelion salad was a chance to give the kid what he has been dreading. For me, it was a chance to behave as badly as my kid has predicted I would. Few parents can pass up such an opportunity.

So I went on a dandelion hunt, looking for plants that weren't very big and had not been sprayed with weed killer. Thanks to a warm spring and my lackadaisical attitude toward lawn care, there were plenty of dandelions to be found.

I picked only the smallest leaves. Then I washed them thoroughly in cold water, pulled off the tough stem and patted them dry. I took a small bite from a freshly washed dandelion green. It tasted like a weed. Maybe the kid was right. But then I added some goat cheese, olive oil and vinegar.

The finished salad tasted like spring, a wild and weedy season. Much to my surprise, and somewhat to my disappointment, both of the kids liked it.

Backyard Spring Salad

Serves 4 to 6

1/2 cup walnut halves

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon walnut or hazelnut oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 bunches young, tender, washed dandelion greens (from shoots less than 5 inches high), tough stems removed

1/4 pound fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Pick dandelions in early spring, when they are still tender shoots less than 5 inches high. The older and taller the leaves, the more bitter the flavor. If dandelion greens can not be found, arugula or mixed salad leaves may replace them in this recipe. (Crumbled crisp bacon pieces and garlic croutons also make nice additions.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in oven until they are lightly browned and fragrant, 5-7 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool and chop coarsely.

To make the dressing, in a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, walnut or hazelnut oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Rinse the dandelion greens and dry thoroughly. Place in a serving bowl. To serve, add the walnuts to the dandelion greens and toss to combine. Drizzle with the dressing and toss again to coat the ingredients evenly. Sprinkle with the goat cheese and serve immediately.

Pub Date: 03/31/99