Ethiopian Cabbage Dish (Tikil Gomen)

 Ingredients:

¼ cup olive oil  (The authentic dish uses a clarified butter called Niter kibbeh).

4 carrots, thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 tsp sea salt

½ tsp fresh ground pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp ground turmeric

½ head cabbage, shredded

5 small potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

2 tbsp minced garlic

½ tsp minced ginger                              

Water, as needed

You will need:

1 deep Non-stick pan

Wooden spoon

*For more flavor, briefly toast spices in a hot, dry skillet prior to adding them to the dish.

Cooking instructions:

Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.   Cook the onion, garlic, and ginger in the hot oil until the onion becomes translucent (about 5 minutes).  Stir in the salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric, and potatoes.  Cook for 15 minutes (adding water if/whenever food sticks to bottom of pan), stirring regularly.  Stir in the carrots and shredded cabbage.  Cook another 15 minutes (again adding water if/when food begins to stick to bottom of pan), stirring regularly.  Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until potatoes are soft.

Recipe adapted from this recipe using advice from this blog.

Sweet Pepper-Potato Chowder with Salad Savoy

Ingredients:
1/2 - 1 TBSP Olive Oil
8 medium sized potatoes, cubed
2 medium size carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 cup sliced red pepper
1 small white or yellow onion, chopped
12 salad savoy leaves, torn
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 TBSP garlic powder
1 cup warmed diced ham (optional)

For the Roux:
2 TBSP olive oil
4 TBSP flour
2 cups 1% milk

Combine potatoes, carrots, celery, salt, and garlic powder in crock pot and cover with water.  Cook on low setting until tender (I left mine for 4 hours).  You could choose another cooking method for the potatoes, carrots, and celery - but this is what worked for me because I wanted to cook them while I was out of the house for a few hours.  You could also boil them on the stovetop, or roast them. When these have 20 minutes left, saute the onion.  When the onion turns clear, add the red pepper, and then finally for the last couple of minutes - the salad savoy.

In a large pot, prepare the roux by first heating the olive oil over medium heat.  Once the oil is heated, whisk in the flour and cook a few minutes until it forms a thick, pale colored paste.  Continuing to stir it with the wisk, slowly stir in the milk - taking care not to scald it.  Using an immersion blender, blend the milk with the roux until there are no remaining lumps.  Strain the vegetables from the crock pot, and add them to the mixture.  Also add the sauteed onion, red pepper, and salad savoy (setting aside about 1/3 of the salad savoy to add later).  Blend the mixture until smooth and creamy.  Add remaining salad savoy and stir.  Serve immediately.

*If desired, add diced pieces of ham