Hindbeh (dandelion with caramelized onions)



As a Lebanese living in France, I admit that I get constant homesick hunger pangs. Well, I know I live in Paris, the city of mouth-watering goodies and I have been lucky enough to have moved in here four years ago.

Residing in Paris, is one of the most rewarding things I’ve done, without any clue there would be so many benefits to the richness of my everyday life experience. And I know deep down inside that I’ll be missing loads of things the day we decide to move away.

Well, to be honest, when I first moved in here, I encountered many frustrations coupled with negative first impressions and low expectations for a new environment. I was definitely homesick, and I refused to adapt to my new surroundings. All I was thinking about at that time was that I just cannot return to my former homeland, that I’ll be stuck here for God knows how long and that I have left behind all my family, my friends, and my childhood memories.

But I had to give myself the chance of being happy and appreciate the good and the bad elements, and a special thanks goes to my dear husband who helped me see the city in a different eye and who taught me that homesickness takes away the charm of exploring the new life I was about to begin in the 'city of light'.

Now I don’t know if Paris will ever feel like home the way home once felt, but it's definitely the greatest experience.

Now, back to my homesick cravings, I am really grateful to my friend who has tucked loads of goodies in her suitcase for me. Those dandelions were one of them. Now I will be able to squelch my homesick hunger pangs for quite sometime.


Ingredients (serves 4):
20 oz (550 g) dandelion
½ cup olive oil
4 onions (16 oz / 450g) onions, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves crushed with a sprinkle of salt
salt to taste
½ cup lemon juice

Remove yellow leaves from dandelion. Wash well. Finely chop.
Bring water to a boil then add dandelion and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Drain and rinse in cold water, then squeeze until dry.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet and fry the onions until golden. Remove half the quantity of onions from oil, reserve aside.
Fry chopped leaves in the same oil with onions for 15 minutes. Add garlic and salt and fry for 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and mix.

Place in a serving plate and garnish with the reserved onions. Serve cold with some lemon wedges.



Pissenlits sautés - Hindbeh

Ingrédients (4 personnes):
550 g de pissenlit
115 ml d'huile d'olive
4 onions (450g) d'oignons, finement émincés
6 gousses d'ail pilées au mortier avec une pointe de sel
sel selon goût
115 ml de jus de citron

Lavez les pissenlit abondamment à l'eau froide. Hachez-les finement.
Faites-les cuire pendant 5 mn dans une grande casserole d'eau bouillante.
Egouttez-les, puis essorez-les dans un linge.

Faites dorer les oignons, à la poêle, dans l'huile d'olive. Réservez la moitié des oignons.
Ajoutez-y les pissenlits. Laissez-les dorer environ 15 mn. Ajoutez l'ail et le sel et laissez mijoter 5 mn. Versez le jus de citron et mélangez.

Transférez-les dans un plat de service. Parsemez de la moitié des oignons caramélisés. Servez à température ambiante avec quelques quarts de citron.

Comments

  1. OMG, that dish looks mighty divine! I love that combo. So mouthwatering.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks delicious, very different from we are custom to eat daily.

    have a great day :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks delicious. I love all kind of green dishes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love dandelions and those look scrumptious! The caramelized onions must make a great addition to these greens.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's funny, that is one of the dishes I was the most homesick for! I can't believe you had them flown all the way from lebanon!
    I had a friend who would add pine nuts to hers, and I like that too!
    GReat photo

    ReplyDelete
  6. One of my favorite dishes! Great shots!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I always see dandelion greens at the farmers market and never know what to do with them. Thanks for this!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Didn't know that dandelions are edible. As a fan of herbs, I must search if I can find it here. Those caramelized onions on the top look gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Cherine, I really enjoyed reading your post.What a Mouthwatering!Kind of a relief knowing I'm not the only expat that still get homesick sometimes :)

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I mean What a Mouthwatering dish! sorry I press the wrong button :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Looks absolutely delicious and yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Glad to read you could get some of the comfort of home back with this recipe. It looks like the perfect side dish to any healthy meal!

    ReplyDelete
  13. humm ça doit être délicieux ça !! j'aime bien les pissenlits mais je ne les cuit jamais.

    ReplyDelete
  14. That's a delicious veggie treat! Love the caramelized onions.

    ReplyDelete
  15. This sounds really delicious, it definitely such a good side dish for Thanksgiving dinner !

    ReplyDelete
  16. I've never had dandelion before. You make it look so delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love dandelion, wish more people were using it!
    This sounds like a really lovely dish!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Food from home is always the most special. The greens look great with the crispy onions on top!

    ReplyDelete
  19. You are lucky to have a friend bring you such treats. You are also soooo lucky to live in Paris-- a city straight out of my dreams. Love the recipe! xoxox

    ReplyDelete
  20. This is similar to the way I prepare chicory leaves. I was told boiling them as opposed to frying them reduces its bitterness. Lovely pictures with the caramelized onions on top

    ReplyDelete
  21. That looks like a reat side! I had no idea that dandelions were eatable. Do you also eat the flowers themselves? A field in front of my flat is full of those in the spring and summer time, now I guess it would be interesting to try those!

    ReplyDelete
  22. @ noonionplease: No we don't eat the flowers. Only the greens.

    ReplyDelete
  23. This was absolutely delicious! Had I known how much I would enjoy it I would have tripled the recipe.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts