Hindbeh Bi Zeit

Easy·15 min

Wild dandelion greens boiled tender, then dressed with lemon and olive oil and crowned with deeply caramelized onions. A bittersweet mountain mezze eaten at room temperature, scooped up with bread.

Hindbeh is the taste of the Lebanese mountains in spring, when villagers forage hillsides for wild dandelion and chicory pushing up through the rocks. Long a food of thrift and the land, this 'dandelion in oil' is also prized in folk wisdom as a tonic for the liver and digestion, the cook taming the green's natural bitterness with sweet golden onions.

Soft, glossy greens carry a clean herbal bitterness that is rounded out by sweet, jammy onions and a sharp squeeze of lemon. The crisp fried onion shards on top add smoky crunch against the silky leaves.

Blanching then squeezing the greens leaches away the harshest bitterness, after which they are sauteed in olive oil with the onions until silky. Slow-cooked onions develop deep sweetness through caramelization, the natural counterweight that balances the dandelion's edge.

Variations

Use chicory, escarole or spinach when dandelion is out of season, add a pinch of cumin, finish with toasted pine nuts, or wrap the greens in pita as a sandwich

On the Palate

Where Hindbeh Bi Zeit sits in the Lebanese flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 4

2 large bunchesDandelion

3, slicedOnion

3 cloves, mincedGarlic

1, juicedLemon

0.5 cupOlive Oil

How it's made

8 steps · 15 min

1
8 min
Wash the dandelion greens well and trim the tough stem ends, then chop coarsely.
2
13 min
Boil the greens in salted water until tender, 10-15 minutes, then drain.
Watch out
Boil the greens just until a stem crushes easily between your fingers — this is what leaches out the harsh bitterness.
3
3 min
Squeeze the cooked greens firmly to remove excess water.
Watch out
Squeeze the greens bone-dry in your fist — leftover water dilutes the oil and steams the greens limp instead of silky.
4
18 min
Heat plenty of olive oil and fry the sliced onions slowly until deep brown and caramelized, 15-20 minutes.
Watch out
Fry the onions slow until deep brown and sweet, not just soft — that caramel sweetness is what balances the bitter greens.
5
2 min
Remove half the crispiest onions and set aside for the topping.
6
4 min
Add the garlic and the squeezed greens to the pan and saute 3-4 minutes.
7
2 min
Stir in lemon juice and salt, then taste and adjust.
8
3 min
Spread on a plate, top with the reserved onions and a drizzle of olive oil; serve at room temperature.