Dandelion salad

May 20, 2009  •  Category:

 



I absolutely love that dish. I ate it once at the home of Sadek Tabbarah, a Lebanese architect. His wife had made it and we ate it along with halloom sandwiches for dinner. Glistening with  olive oil, studded with  pine nuts, mellow from the caramelized onions and tangy with lemon juice, I thought at the time that I could eat this every day and not tire of it!

But when I moved to France and later to the States I kept looking for hindbeh or wild chicory  so I could make it again, to no avail. Finally, a friend said that I could use dandelions, that it was the same plant, except cultivated. Relief. In fact, any green will do, including collard greens that can be purchased frozen. If you like to eat greens, you will love this salad!

INGREDIENTS: This quantity will be sufficient for 4 people

2 Bunches of dandelion greens or 20 oz of frozen collard greens

1 lb of onions, chopped

1/3 cup of extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup of pine nuts (optional)

salt, to taste

6 cloves of mashed garlic or 1 Tablespoon of toom

1/2 large lemon, juiced, plus 1 or 2 more lemons to juice individually

METHOD:

  • Cook the dandelion greens (previously washed thoroughly and chopped coarsely) in a lot of water (about 2 quarts) until they wilt, around 5 minutes. Dump the whole lot in a sieve over a bowl and when cooled a bit, press with a wooden spoon to extract most of the water. Set aside.
  • Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or pan and when hot, drop the onions and fry them for at least 15 minutes until they turn golden,  then brown. I add a teaspoon of brown sugar  to help with the process. When the onions are brown but not burnt! add the greens and mix with a wooden spoon to incorporate very well. Add the pine nuts and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to the mixture. Cover and cook on low heat for about 10 more minutes. Add the mashed garlic the last 5 minutes of cooking. Cool the mixture a bit and serve at room temperature with lemon quarters to squeeze individually on each plate. Sahteyn!img_3647

NOTE:

It is customary to garnish this salad with extra caramelized onions, so when you are done browning the onions and before adding the greens you may wish to set a portion aside for the garnish.

Comments

9 Comments  •  Comments Feed

  1. Reply

    Leyla says:

    Hello,
    This is how my mom cooked it. It is available in Italian groceries.

    On August 31, 2009 at 10:41 pm

  2. Reply

    Cherine says:

    Hello, I love Hindbeh too. Do you think I can find it in France? I only eat it when I go to Lebanon and this is not enough 🙂
    Love ur blog and ur recipes!!

    On February 1, 2010 at 2:11 pm

  3. Reply

    Vanessa says:

    Well, I must admit I’d never really considered eating dandelion leaves – the “Wet-The-Bed” tag would have put me off!! I think this is one I have to try, you make it sound so tasty and simple. I usually use my best food processor for food prep as my carpal tunnel problem is pretty painful – but it sounds as though I could manage this all by hand – thank you, I’m drooling already! Vanessa G

    On October 3, 2010 at 7:26 am

  4. Reply

    Sakeenah Joseph says:

    Huge and grateful thanks for this amazing recipe…to be honest did not try it yet but my senses tell me it’s really authentic.
    Few people realize how healthy this food is.It’s packed with iron and anti-oxidants.
    Thank you for an amazing recipe. I have added your site to my favorites category.
    Keep up the good and delicious work!!!!

    On June 24, 2011 at 7:45 am

  5. Reply

    Sue says:

    I used swissed chard as that’s what I had on hand. Followed the recipe to a T and it was very delicious!

    On January 24, 2021 at 4:19 am

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