Mama Was Wrong When She Told Me To Never Eat With My Hands
Growing up, my family was not exactly a bunch of adventurous eaters. Chinese food was about as brave as we got, so when I moved to the Bay Area at the ripe old age of 21, my tastebuds were in for quite the surprise. My palate had gotten more educated, but I had still never tried a great many different world cuisines. Sure, I had eaten what passed for Mexican food on the east coast (I miss you every day, Taqueria Pancho Villa. The Mexican food on the east coast has not gotten any better over time.) and had tried Thai and Indian, but that was about where it ended. Vietnamese, Mediterranean, Korean, Ethiopian were all things I knew about, but they were still a mystery to me. My years in the Bay Area honestly had more downs than ups, but I'm grateful to that place for the life lessons I learned while I was there and also for showing me how much I love all different types of eats. I may never have learned of the gloriosity of Ethiopian food if it weren't for Oakland. So, thanks, California! At least you were good for something!
Full disclosure: There isn't a recipe for injera in this post, because I haven't mastered that quite yet. It's a five day affair from start to finish and I'm no hero. We're fortunate enough to live in an area where we can purchase injera by the piece at our local Ethiopian restaurant, Hawi, for $1 each. Honestly, that's more affordable than the cost of making it at home and is probably of a much higher quality than anything I would make. Next time I'm going to attempt it and I'll share that with you folks, for better or worse, when I do. However, if you're just looking for an injera recipe, read no further!
The recipes I make the most are misir wot, kik alicha, and gomen wat. Respectively, these are red lentil, yellow split pea, and collard green dishes and the first time I ever ate them they blew my mind. They're warm and slightly spicy and, to me, they're very comforting. Collard greens are my most favorite of all of the dark leafy greens and they are typically what's used to make gomen wat, but if they're not your thing or they're unavailable you could substitute kale for them.
3 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil 1 tablespoon black cardamom seeds or ground cardamom 1 tablespoon ground allspice 1 tablespoon cumin seeds or ground cumin 1 medium sweet onion, chopped 3-4 cloves (or more, if you're me) garlic, chopped finely 2 pounds collards, stemmed and chopped into long strips 1 tablespoon ground clove 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika 1/8 teaspoon cayenne 1.5 cups water 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
Juice of half a lemon Salt and pepper to taste
In a medium pot, dry toast cardamom, allspice, and cumin for 2 minutes over low heat. Add ghee or coconut oil and fry 2 minutes more. Add onion and garlic, cooking until soft and slightly translucent. Add collards, clove, paprika, cayenne, and water and cook 40-55 minutes over medium heat, until most of the water has evaporated and the collards are completely soft. Top with vinegar, lemon, salt and pepper to taste, and serve hot. Enjoy!
Tip: If you over-cayenne your dish you can add 1/2 a teaspoon of unrefined sugar to cut the mouth-burning, nose-running, eye-watering pain. The acid from the lemon and vinegar and fat from the ghee or coconut oil also help to reduce the burn, so you could also try adding a little more of those if the sugar doesn't quite do the trick.
1 cup red lentils 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 4 tbsp. ghee, unsalted butter, or coconut oil
1/2 inch ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1⁄8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1⁄8 teaspoon ground cumin
1⁄8 teaspoon cardamom seed
1⁄8 teaspoon dried oregano
1⁄16 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 basil leaves
2 tbsp. berbere (Recipe for one cup of berbere right below)
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek
1/2 cup ground dried chiles
1/4 cup paprika
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 small tomato, cored and chopped or 1.5 tablespoons tomato paste Kosher salt, to taste
Rinse the lentils in a sieve under cold running water and set aside. Heat the butter, ghee, or coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, fenugreek, cumin, cardamom, oregano, tumeric, and basil and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about one minute. Add the reserved lentils, 1 tbsp. of the berbere, tomato or tomato paste, and 4 cups water to the saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick and the lentils are tender, 45–50 minutes. Stir in the remaining berbere and season generously with salt. Serve immediately.
2 large red onions, chopped 1 tbsp coconut oil, unsalted butter, or ghee 6 garlic cloves, minced 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced 3 cups water 1/2 tsp turmeric 3/4 tsp salt freshly ground pepper, to taste 1/2 green chili, deseeded and minced (optional) 1 cup yellow split peas
In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften. Add the oil and when it begins to sputter, add the garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the water, turmeric, salt, pepper, and the optional chile. Cover and bring to a boil. Add the split peas, return to a boil and partially cover, reduce heat and maintain simmer until the peas have softened, around 45-60 minutes. Add more water as needed, a tablespoon at a time. Mash the peas if you desire. Serve warm.
I really do promise that I'll try to make injera soon! I just haven't mustered up the courage quite yet.
Next up on the docket: Veggie Wellington!