A Culinary Trip to Ethiopia Continued

For the past few weeks, Chef E from Cook Appeal and I have been traveling virtually through the cuisine of Ethiopia. I was so honored this week to play host to a real Ethiopian at my Friday feast! My neighbors adopted a little girl from Ethiopia about a year ago. Here she is sitting at my kitchen table enjoying....macaroni and cheese. Don't you just love her pudgy, pudgy hands? I tore off some injera for her and she looked at it like it was not edible. I thought it was quite cute that while her parents and my husband and I feasted on dishes from Ethiopia, she was happily munching on the mac and cheese I made for all the kiddos.

For our culinary tour this week, I decided on making Doro We't, a spicy chicken and egg dish, as well as Ye'atakilt Alich'a, which is a vegetable stew.  Also, as a bonus, my little friend's father prepared Yemisir Alich'a which is mild lentil sauce served with pita chips or injera.

The Doro We't.  You can just see how spicy and rich the sauce is.

Doro We't by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

6 lbs. chicken parts

3 sticks unsalted butter

3 lbs. red onions, chopped

2 tsp. garlic powder

4 heaping Tbls. berbere (recipe here)

9 oz. tomato paste

3 c. chicken stock

10 hard boiled eggs, peeled and slightly scored

1 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

1.  In a large Dutch oven on the stovetop, melt the butter.  Add the onions to the melted butter and saute over medium heat until translucent, about 5-10 minutes.  

2.  Meanwhile, remove the skin from the chicken parts and score the meat slightly to allow the sauce to penetrate once they are added to the pot.

3.  To the onions, add the garlic powder, berbere, tomato paste and the black pepper.  Add the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil.  Add the chicken pieces to the sauce one piece at a time, stirring between each addition to make sure that each piece of chicken is covered in sauce.

4.  Pre-heat the oven to 275 degrees.

5.  Cover the Dutch oven and place it in the oven for 4 hours.

6.  Thirty minutes before serving, add the hard boiled eggs to the sauce to warm.

7.  Serve Doro We't with injera (recipe here) and eat it with your hands.

Ye'atakilt Alich'a (Vegetable Stew)

Ye'atakilt Alich'a (Vegetable Stew) adapted from Exotic Ethiopian Cooking by D.J. Mesfin

Ingredients:

3 sticks butter

1 1/2 c. red onions, chopped

6 medium potatoes, scrubbed and chopped into large bite sized pieces

5 large carrots, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces

6 oz. tomato paste

1 small green cabbage, cored and chopped into large chunks

6 medium Anaheim chilies, seeded and sliced into long, skinny strips

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1 c. chicken stock

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

1.  In a large Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium high heat.  Add the chopped onions and saute until translucent 5-10 minutes. 

2.  Add all of the remaining ingredients and stir.  

3.  Cover the Dutch oven and place in a 275 degree oven for 3-4 hours until all of the vegetables are tender and are browning.

4.  Stir the Ye'atakilt Alich'a to combine and serve with injera.

Our special treat, Yemisir Alich'a (Mild Split Lentil Sauce)

Yemisir Alich'a (Mild Split Lentil Sauce) adapted from Exotic Ethiopian Cooking by D.J. Mesfin

Ingredients:

2 c. lentils

6 c. water

2 c. chopped onions

2 c. butter

1 Tbls. ginger

1 tsp. chopped garlic

1/3 c. berere

Directions:

1.  Bring water to boil in a large stockpot.

2.  Pick through the lentils and remove any rocks.  Boil the lentils in the water for 5 minutes.

3.  In another pot, melt the butter and add the onions.  Cook until the onions are translucent but not browning, 5-10 minutes.  Add the lentils and the water to the onions.  Add the spices.  Simmer for 20 minutes until the mixture is thick and the lentils are soft.  Serve with injera.

I've so enjoyed this culinary tour of Ethiopia.  The dishes are rustic and although they are not quick and easy to make, they are SO WORTH IT!  Thank you Chef E for suggesting we do this!  Don't forget to check out the amazing Ethiopian dishes at Cook Appeal.  Chef E used to work at an Ethiopian restaurant and goes all out for her meals.