Last Updated on June 12, 2022
Vegetarian Sauteed Dandelion Recipe
Vegetarians Rejoice! “Slee’ M’alla” is the Lebanese name for Sauteed Dandelion, an extremely easy to make vegetarian dish (that is also economical). The main ingredients are dandelion leafs, onions and lemon juice. Mom never buys dandelion from grocery stores in Lebanon, instead she picks the leafs from wild dandelion that grows in our garden.
Benefits of Sleek M’alla (Sauteed Dandelion)
According to Organic Facts, dandelion is rich in vitamin-A, C, iron and calcium and detoxifiers which explains its use in medicines. Some of its benefits include maintaining bone health, skin care and weight loss. And this stuff tastes great, so here we go…
Benefits Of Dandelion
- Fight against inflammation
- May aid in blood sugar management
- May lower blood pressure
FAQs
How do you cook dandelions to eat?
The process of cooking dandelions is mentioned in detail in the recipe section.
What part of the dandelion is poisonous?
leaves of the dandelions are poisonous if it is taken in large qauantity.
Vegan Lebanese Dandelion Sautee Recipe – Sleek M’alla
Ingredients
- 2 cups dandelions green, chopped
- 4 onions
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Rinse the dandelion well (to help wash away bitterness) and cut them into pieces of about 2.5 to 3 inches long.
- Add the dandelion to a boiling pot of water, and let boil for 35 minutes on low to medium heat. The way to tell if it’s cooked is if the stem can be easily smashed with your fingers. Alternatively you can also steam the dandelion; this tends to keep more nutrients in it however it may yield a slight bitter taste.
- Once cooked, rinse the dandelion with cold water, then press them with your hands well to get rid of as much water as possible. Spread them on a cutting board, sprinkle salt and mix well.
- Meanwhile, cut onions into long pieces and sauté in 1/4 cup of hot olive oil for 10-15 minutes or until they turn light brown. Add cooked dandelion to frying pan, mix well, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Pour dandelions into serving bowl, drizzle with 1/3 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice or to taste, and serve cold or warm with Lebanese pita bread and enjoy.
We always add soaked burghul to Sleek. Any way you make it though, it is delicious. 🙂
Yes you are right Al. Selluk is the swiss chard not dandelion. I should say few other mistakes are on this website, Lebanesean is wrong. Just say Lebanese.
Hi, Is the dandelion called Hundeba in Lebanese? sleek is different?
Regards
Lebanese Canadian
Hi Al – my understanding is that Hundaba / هندبة is a plant similar to dandelion but is not the wild dandelion that you pick up from prairies and which we referred to in this recipe. In Koura where I grew up Hundaba and Sleek (dandelions) were two different plants. However both are equally good for the Sleek dish. I’ve even tried this dish done with larger leafs such as chard and it had a very similar flavor.
This recipe looks really wonderful, I’m going to take a walk and look for dandelions!
How many leaves are in a bunch, approximately? Is it around 1 cup?
Hi Tamara a bunch is approx a chopped cup of dandelions yes
yummmmmmmmmmmmmm we make it every other week , the best thing for health
Totally agreed it’s very delicious and nutritious!
We have a backyard garden in the city and do not treat the backyard since its full of edibles 🙂 the front yard is treated. I guess picking these in the country would be the best idea! I wondered when using foraged greens what is the best way to clean them? Like rabbit feces, pee etc that might be on them we cant see?
Hi Heather, we typically use veggy wash spray (can be found in places like whole foods/trader joes) that is made from lemon oil and other organic matters. This helps removing residues like pesticides, wax and other stuff.. And when we suspect bacterial contamination we soak the veggies in water with a cup or 2 of white vinegar for a few minutes and then rinse well…we heard that this kills bacteria and cleans well but I’d double check. I went to Lowes recently and bought a powder that is made from hot and black peppers and that repels rodents including rabbits, squirrels and other animals like dogs/cats/deer etc.. so you can sprinkle this around the area that you want to protect to eliminate the problem from its roots 🙂
Your mom’s method of gathering the dandelion leaves in the garden is the best! Makes me long for a garden to do this! Oh well, I guess i will just have to buy them at the grocery store for now.
Ditto Joumana, having a garden is the best!! At times when I lived in apartments I’ve always tried to plant greens in pots on the balcony and people thought I’m nuts because it cost twice as much as buying from a grocery store but the taste pays off!!! 🙂