Wilted Dandelion Greens Salad (Hinbe)

This simple Lebanese salad is adapted from Maydan by Rose Previte. Previte is chef-owner of the Washington, D.C. restaurant of the same name, as well as Compass Rose, Kirby Club and Media. In the recipe’s headnote, she reminisces that when she was growing up, her father would pull the car over so the family could pick wild dandelion greens growing by the side of the road, and her mom would prepare them this way.

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Deliciously earthy, the greens may be the most nutritionally dense plants on the planet. They’re on the bitter side, and pretty intense — so probably not for everyone — but we love them.

Previte’s recipe calls for store-bought fried shallots; we fried our own, and are including instructions to do that. Of course you can use the store-bought ones if you have some you like.

Serves 2 to 4.

Ingredients

For the fried shallots

1 medium shallot, sliced thin and separated into rings

3 tablespoons neutral oil (such as canola)

For the salad

1/4 cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

2 bunches dandelion greens (about 1 pound / 455 grams), rinsed well and sliced into 2- to 3-inch / 5- to 7.5-cm lengths

3 cloves garlic, crushed with garlic press

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed

Juice of 1 lemon, plus more as needed

Instructions

1. To make the fried shallots, first dry them out by microwaving the. (This will make frying quicker and easier.) Line a plate with a folded paper towel, and place the shallot on the paper towel. Microwave on high for 60 to 90 seconds, until the shallots have shrunk.

2. Set a small strainer over a small bowl and set aside. Place the shallots and the neutral oil in a small saucepan, set over medium-low heat, and stir to combine. Watch them carefully, and once they begin to sizzle gently, let them cook, swirling the pan gently, for 4 or 5 minutes until about half of them are golden-brown. (If the frying begins to proceed too quickly, remove the pan briefly from the heat to cool it down for a moment.) Once half of them are golden-brown, remove the pan from the heat and continue to swirl it gently until they’re mostly golden, about 30 more seconds. Drain them immediately through the strainer. The shallot oil is delicious, and can be reserved for another use. Let the shallots cool and crisp 3 or 4 minutes in the strainer — shake it, and you should hear them rattling a little. Drain on paper towels.

3. In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over high heat until it’s very hot but not smoking. Add as many greens as will fit in the pan, and use tongs to toss and turn them so that there is more room in the pan for the remaining greens. Add more greens and toss until they’re all incorporated. Add the garlic and salt and sauté until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.

4. Reduce the heat and cook gently until the stems are tender and the bitterness is tempered, about 15 minutes. Add the lemon juice, increase the heat to high and cook for another minute.

5. Remove the pan from the heat and let the greens cool to room temperature. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding lemon juice or salt if necessary. Top with the shallots just before serving.