Ankinar bil Zeit

Name: Ankinar bil Zeit
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Syria
Ingredients: 8 artichoke hearts, fresh or frozen; 300 g peas; 3 carrots, diced; 2 shallots, sliced; 100 ml olive oil; Juice of 2 lemons; 1 tsp sugar; 1½ tsp salt; 200 ml water

Local name: أنكينار بالزيت

Syrian artichoke hearts braised in olive oil with peas and carrots, served cold with a wedge of lemon.

Published on 1 September 2026·Updated on 10 September 2026

VeganGluten-free#artichoke#peas#olive oil#cold#mezze

Photo: عمر الشامي , CC BY 4.0

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 35 min
Total: 65 min
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Medium

Method

Drop fresh artichoke hearts into lemon water as you trim them, so they do not darken.
Sweat the shallots in the olive oil for 5 minutes over low heat, without colouring them.
Add the carrots and cook for 5 minutes more.
Sit the artichoke hearts hollow side up, then pour in the water, the juice of one lemon, the sugar and the salt.
Cover and simmer for 20 minutes on the lowest heat.
Spoon the peas into the hollows and cook covered for another 8 minutes.
Cool in the cooking juices, then dress with the second lemon before serving.

Dishes named bil zeit are eaten cold. The olive oil sets a little as it cools and coats the vegetables in a glossy film. Damascus kitchens build a different version around each vegetable of the season.

The techniques this recipe uses

Sweat the aromatics
Medium heat, no browning: the onion should turn translucent and sweet, not toasted.

This recipe also appears in

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 351 kcal
Protein: 7.8 g
Fat: 23.7 g
Carbohydrate: 31.7 g
Fibre: 10.9 g

An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.

Frequently asked questions

Do frozen artichoke bottoms need thawing first?

No, put them straight into the pan, hollow side up. They come already trimmed and will release a little water early on, which does no harm here. They also save you the lemon-water step, which exists only to stop freshly trimmed artichokes from darkening.

What is the spoonful of sugar for?

It is not there to sweeten the dish but to round off the sharpness of two lemons and the natural bitterness of artichoke. Without it the dish tastes aggressive once cold. A single teaspoon is enough for the whole pan.

How long does this mezze keep?

Three days in the fridge, as long as it stays submerged in its cooking juices. The flavour actually improves overnight. Take it out twenty minutes before serving so the olive oil, set firm by the cold, turns liquid again.

Meatless Moroccan cooking, from bessara to tagine
Bessara, zaalouk and taktouka are plant-based by tradition; harira, tagine and couscous, often made with meat or smen, work just as well without.
Mediterranean diet: a way of building a plate
What actually defines the Mediterranean diet beyond the folklore, illustrated with real dishes from Greece, Italy, Spain, Lebanon and Morocco.
Eating vegetarian in Spain and Portugal
The Iberian vegetable dishes that predate the word vegetarian, what actually holds them together, and the ham stock and hidden tuna to watch for.

Have you cooked this dish?

No ratings yet.

Give it a rating

More recipes from Syria

Syria⏱ 15 min

Shanklish Salad

Syrian thyme-aged cheese crushed with tomato, onion and olive oil, scooped up with bread at mezze time.

Easy

Syria⏱ 55 min

Okra in tomato sauce

Okra simmered in a garlic and coriander tomato sauce, sharpened at the end with pomegranate molasses and lemon juice.

Easy·207 kcalVeganGluten-free

Syria⏱ 60 min

Makdous

Baby aubergines cured in salt then stuffed with walnut, red pepper and garlic, and kept under a blanket of olive oil.

Medium·261 kcalVeganGluten-free

Recipes in the same spirit

AmekfoulAlgeria
HernekeittoFinland
Vegetable samosasIndia
AzifaEthiopia