Crock Pot Doro Wat

I've posted before how much we enjoy Ethiopian cooking in our home. In fact, it's a weekly tradition! After we arrived home with our newly adopted 9-year-old son, we would make a point of taking him out for Ethiopian food, but it would be a $50-$75+ meal each time. On the heels of an adoption, and for a family of 5 living on one income, we quickly realized that was not an option very often! Additionally, it was important to me (and, I believe, for our son) for the distinct and wonderful smell of berebere and other Ethiopian spices to not simply remind him of Ethiopia or a restaurant... but of HOME. I have adapted many recipes but have only taken the time to post a couple. I have been terrible about blogging for the past couple of...years. The ones I have written about are here. I know there are many others making it better, but I've been asked how I do it, so I want to be sure and share. Sometimes I get more "gourmet" when I have time: freshly-chopped red onions, organic, fresh chicken marinated in lime juice, and cooking it in wine. But today I'm sharing what I make on a busy day. :)

As a busy mom, I utilize my crock pot multiple times per week. During the school year it is a huge time saver. In the summer there are just as many reasons to use it (not to mention "menu plan"!). So, why not for Ethiopian food?

Here is my Crock Pot Doro Wat. (In fact, my Ethiopian son just came in, lifted the lid of the crock pot and said "I don't think I can wait for dinner! I want some NOW!" :)

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Crock Pot Doro Wat (Spicy Chicken Stew with Hard Boiled Egg)

1 bag boneless, skinless frozen chicken

1 bag frozen, chopped onion

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

4-6 tablespoons bere bere (if you're new or sensitive to spicy-ness, you may want to start with 2)

2 tablespoons margarine or butter

1 tablespoon cardamom

1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

1/2 tablespoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon black pepper

5-6 hardboiled eggs

sea salt to taste

Thaw the chicken, then stir all the ingredients together in the crock pot.
After about 5 hours on "low" setting, or whenever the chicken is cooked, use a fork to shred it into bite-sized pieces that will be easily picked up when eaten with injera.

Add a few hard boiled eggs which have been pierced with a fork. OR, you can slice them up. I don't want the whole thing to get too "eggy" so I just put them whole and we cut them when we serve it, or half them on our plates.
Today I added my version of Chickpea Paste ("But-etcha") My VERY simple version. I cooked some chickpeas over the weekend, but you can also use canned.
Once the chicken mixture is cooked, spoon some of the sauce into the chickpeas with a little water.
Use the Braun or the blender to mix it all up into a yummy and nutritious paste.

Tonight I also served it with "ayb" (cottage cheese... nice with spicy food, especially on a hot night) as well as some English peas. It turned out betam konjo!

Let me know how yours turns out, or post your modifications in the comments. I love learning how other people do it!

Enjoy!

Fosoleay

(Ethiopian Spicy Carrots and Green Beans)

1 small bag baby carrots or frozen carrots, whichever you prefer
1 small bag frozen green beans
3 green onions
1 large red onion
1/4 cup olive oil
4 Tbs tomato paste
3 Tbs chopped fresh garlic or 1 T garlic powder
1 tsp cumin

Slice carrots into small pieces. Cut or break green beans into small, bite-sized pieces. in large frying pan, soften onion for 3 minutes, but do not brown. Add tomato paste and carrots. Stir for approximately 5 minutes, or until carrots begin to get tender. Add green beans and stir gently for another 1o minutes. Add garlic and cumin. I usually lower the heat, cover and let the carrots continue to get tender, checking every few minutes. Serves 4-6. I usually serve this as a side dish.

Minchet Abishe

(Hot Ground Beef Stew)

This is one of our family's favorites, and very easy to make. The only ingredients not readily available in most grocery stores are the berebere spice, which is available at Ethiopian markets and online here, and the injera bread.

2 pounds extra lean ground beef
6 large red onions, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2-4 tablespoons berebere spice
3 cups water
2 tsp powdered garlic
2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 teaspoon black pepper
sea salt to taste
injera bread

Saute red onions in olive oil in a large pan. When onions are brown, add bere bere spice (we started with 2 tablespoons... now we are up to 4. It is very spicy!) Add a little water and mix well. Add ground beef and cook until brown. Ad garlic, ginger, nutmeg, and black pepper. Stir. Add sea salt to taste. Serve with rolled up injera bread. Makes 4-6 servings. Enjoy!

(pictured above: Minchet Abishe, Yeatakilt Wet (cabbage and potatoes), spicy lentils, injera bread)

Monday Menu and an Ethiopian Recipe

Happy Monday!! Has it really been a week already since last Monday? Time really does fly when you're having fun. Yes, it is fun raising kids and all that it entails!

Speaking of "flying" that's what I'll be doing Friday. My husband and I are leaving for Ethiopia for a wonderful missions opportunity with our non-profit! Isn't that amazing? SO, since I'll be away from my kitchen for over a week and won't be here to deal with leftovers, I am only cooking for two nights this week. Then it's "YO YO" ("You're On Your Own") nights for two nights so we can eat all the food and clean out the fridge. The kids love YO YO nights. They can eat whatever - leftovers, sandwiches, breakfast for dinner... anything they want to make and clean up after. (Having a posted menu helps on nights like this, so everyone knows what leftovers are available.) I'm also planning on how brain-tired I'll be when we get home from a week in Africa, so I'm making extra enchiladas and putting them in the freezer. This serves a double purpose: it helps me when I get back and also satisfies our desire for Tex Mex which we always get when we travel to other parts of the world. Like, outside Texas, LOL.

Since we'll be apart for a few days, I decided to cook two of our family favorites this week, one from each continent.

Monday: Chicken Enchiladas, black beans, corn casserole
Tuesday: Y'Assa Wet (Spicy Ethiopian Fish Stew) <-- and="" below="" lentils="" recipe="" see="" span="" spicy="" style="font-weight: bold;">Wednesday: YO YO
Thursday:YO YO
Friday: Ciao! Off to Ethiopia! (Kids to their fun friends' and aunt's houses)

Here is the recipe for the Ethiopian dish I'm making this week. ALL of the Ethiopian food I make (which I try to do weekly, you can read more about why here) is with ingredients that can be purchased at Wal Mart or any grocery store. The only things that can't are the bere bere spice, and the injera bread with which you scoop up each bite. We don't even use utensils on Ethiopian food night. Isn't that fun? So, please be encouraged! If you can find an Ethiopian market somewhere to purchase the bere bere and injera, the rest you can do yourself. I know some who make their own injera, something I want to tackle someday! If you don't have access to bere bere spice, you can order some online at a site like this one.

So, here's my recipe, which is adapted from the book Exotic Ethiopian Cooking.

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Ye' Assa Wet (Spicy Fish Stew)

3-6 medium fish fillets (I typically use frozen tilapia)
2 cups chopped red onion
1 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cup water
3 TBSP bere bere spice (or 4 if you're feeling brave)
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 tsp. black pepper
sea salt to taste

Cut the fish into small pieces and place into grill pan. I use my kitchen scissors (like I do for everything!) and this is super easy! You can also use a small skillet. Brown the fish without oil.


While the fish is browning, brown the onions in the 1 cup of oil in another larger skillet.
Once onions begin to brown, add bere bere.
Once bere bere is stirred through, the onions begin to shrink up a little.
Then add the wine, a little at a time, continuing to stir so it does not burn. Alternate adding water a little at a time.
Once fish has cooked for awhile, it will become white and flaky.
Simmer the sauce for about 15-20 minutes to let the wine and spices blend.
Add cooked fish to the spicy stew mixture.
Once fish is added to to the spicy sauce, here is what it looks like. This has become one of our favorites, and it is very quick to put together. It is light, spicy and a wonderful taste of Ethiopia!

Serve with rolled up injera bread. An easy side dish with this is boiled lentils with a dash of bere bere spice in them and maybe a few red onions as well. I highly recommend the Ethiopian Cooking books in my sidebar for lots more recipes and side dishes that compliment this recipe.


For more menus and recipes, visit Laura at Orgjunkie.com. Have a yummy week!

A Taste Of Home

It's hard to believe Minte has been home almost 6 months! During that time, he and I have enjoyed our Sunday evenings together. The rest of the family is at church at Awana, and since he has not started attending it yet, he and I stay home. If the weather is nice, we'll play in the backyard or take a walk, sometimes we watch a movie, play card games, or work puzzles. We love that time together, and it has been a treasured time for me because he really opens up and talks to me about how he feels about things, and also tells me stories about his life in Ethiopia. What a gift these Sunday evenings have been!

In the past few weeks, one of our favorite things to do is also cook together. I haven't yet gathered all of the necessary spices to cook many of the dishes from the Ethiopian cookbooks we have (linked at the end of this post) but he was so excited when he found out we had some bere bere spice (Ethiopian chili powder), because he knew how to make one of his favorite spicy pasta dishes. He had seen his Ethiopian mother make it before, and had had it many times in his life. He literally jumped up and down at the thought of having it here.

A couple of weeks ago I asked him if I could photograph him making it and share his recipe on the blog.

First, I have to show you the cute cannister I found for keeping our bere bere spice. He was so excited to see that it is out with the other cannisters, and he can use it any time he wants on pasta, eggs, etc. (It really is a staple!) He seemed genuinely pleased that it is now a permanent part of the "decor" in our kitchen.

I found this one and a bigger one just like it recently at a Ross discount store in our area. In case you can't see it, here's a closer picture, so you can see the African women on it:

When he saw the women with baskets on their heads he said, "Ees Ee-tiopia!" Love it.
Here's what bere bere looks like. Like I said, it is a chili powder and it is VERY spicy. I was able to take his "recipe" and measure it out, and it comes out very spicy, so you may want to tone it down. He laughs because his pasta makes Mommy sweat. LOL

Here's the recipe:

Minte's Favorite Spicy Ethiopian Pasta

2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 (half) a large white onion, chopped
2+ tablespoons canola oil
3 1/2 teaspoons (or less!) of bere bere spice
pasta of your choice (we usually use spaghetti)


Saute the onion in a bit of oil, then add the tomatoes. Saute together for a few minutes, until onions begin to look clear and tomatoes are soft.

Add 2 tablespoons of oil and bere bere, 1 teaspoon at a time (Minte likes up to 3 1/2 teaspoons of it. I cut him off there, but he says that's not "too spicy." You be the judge.)
The result is a sauce the consistency of a paste. Sometimes he adds a bit more oil.
He likes just a small amount on his pasta, then he stirs it all to make a thin coating on it. A little goes a long way!

Every Sunday evening I also love how it makes the house smell, and I wonder what memories that aroma might be bringing back to him. Judging from his smile, they must be good ones.
I keep the rest of the spaghetti noodles in a ziploc bag next to a small container of the bere bere sauce, and he eats it for lunch during the week, or whenever he wants/ needs a "taste of home."

Here are a few cookbooks I have found. Minte loves to look through them, and I hope to be cooking from them soon.

Exotic Ethiopian Cooking: Society, Culture, Hospitality & Traditions

Foods Of Ethiopia

Discovery of a Continent
The Recipe of Love