Ethiopia: Kitfo

I love Ethiopian food not to mention the women from Ethiopia are gorgeous. There is so much history in the food itself and the great thing is Ethiopian cuisine had historically undergone little influence so with every bite you are getting a taste of genuine, African food. The key to Ethiopian food are spices which not only flavored the food but also preserved meet well in an area with little refrigeration. Kitfo (raw beef)is one such example. Although I am sure raw meet would preserve quite well in Ethiopia with all the spicing, I would still recommend cooking the beef as a safety precaution. Throwing the beef in a skillet and cooking the meat until it is at rare, medium or well done. In order to make good Kitfo, first you need to learn how to make the Ethopian paste and spiced butter. You can either choose to make them from scratch or find these items in a local Ethiopian shop, restaurant or any place ethnic which sells ethnic spices.

Berbere or spiced paste:

2 cups of Paprika

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1 and 1/2 cup of water

1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamon

1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon of allspice

1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

1 teaspoon of ground ginger

2 tablespoon of chopped onion

1 tablespoon of chopped garlic

2 cups of paprika

2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

1-2 tablespoons of red pepper flakes (for more spicy paste use larger quantity)

Place the cardamon, ginger, fenugreek seeds, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, coriander and cinnamon into large frying pan or skillet on medium-high for about a minute stirring occasionally and shaking the pan to mix up the spices.

Allow 10 minute cooling.

Place the garlic, spices, onions, vinegar and salt into a blender and mix on high until a paste forms.

Separately, stir fry the pepper flakes, black pepper, and paprika for a minute while stirring occasionally then add the water and vegetable oil.

Place the blender paste along with everything else in the pan and cook for 15 minutes while stirring occasionally.

Place in a container and refrigerate for later use.

Will make 2 cups.

Kibe (spiced butter)

1 and 1/2 teaspoons of tumeric

1/4 teaspoons cardamom seeds

1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg

3 white cloves

4 teaspoons of grated ginger

1 inch long cinnamon stick

3 tablespoons of chopped garlic

1 small chopped onion

2 lbs of salted butter

Melt the butter in heavy saucepan with medium heat. You want a light boil.

When the surface is foamy, throw in all ingredients and heat on low/uncovered for 45 minutes. No stirring. This will allow milk deposits to form at the bottom of the pan. You will know when it is done when milk deposits are golden brown and the butter is clear.

Strain the mixture several layers of cheesecloth in a strainer.

Throw away the milk deposits in the cheese cloth.

Store in the fridge for later use.

Kitfo (spicy beef)

1/4 chopped onions

1 tablespoon of chili powder

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of berbere (spicy paste)

1/8 cup of kibe (spicy butter)

1/2 teaspoon of ginger

1/4 teaspoon of garlic

1/2 of lemon juice

2 tablespoons of chopped green pepper

1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom

1 lb of ground beef (cooking recommended)

Melt the kibe (butter) in a large frying pan.

Add in all the ingredients except the berbe (paste), lemon juice and salt and cook for 15 minutes on low stirring occasionally.

Allow cooling for 15 minutes.

Add lemon, berebere and salt.

Stir in ground beef.

Makes six servings.

Kitfo would go great with Ethiopian flat bread or couscous. A true delight.

Sources:

http://www.foodbycountry.com/Algeria-to-France/Ethiopia.html#b