Gete's perfect tikil gomen recipe

When I first moved to Ethiopia, I lived with a host family for about 3 months. That's where my host mom, Gete, taught me to make tikil gomen. It was so odd to her that any man wanted to learn how to cook that she was actually nervous to have me around when she prepared injeera or firfir. But eventually we got to be great kitchen pals and I had a blast as her sous chef who could speak only about 8 words of Amharic. Anyhow, this is exactly how she makes her tikil gomen, which is just mild, sautéed cabbage (tikil gomen literally is just 'cabbage' in Amharic). It's a nice, lighter and milder option to serve with the more flavorful wots (stews) for a meal. It can be served hot or cold.

Gete's backyard kitchen. It's humble, but it gets the job done.

Inside the kitchen/pantry (you can just see the edge of the wood stove on the left). This is where I learned how to make the best dishes Ethiopia has to offer from the one and only Gete!

My host fam!

Prep time: 1 cocktail

4 TBSP oil

1 onion, chopped

4 carrots, sliced on the diagonal into 1/2-inch ovals

1/2 head cabbage, core removed and sliced into 3/4-1 inch strips

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp tumeric

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalepeno, chopped

In a large pan that has a lid, heat the oil on medium. When hot, add onions and cover. Let the onions cook for 5 minutes, removing the lid once to stir.

Add carrots, and keep the pot covered for 5 more minutes, opening it once again halfway through to stir.

Add cabbage and keep covered another 5 minutes, opening once again halfway through to stir.

Add salt, ginger, tumeric, garlic, and jalepeno. Cover it all up again and cook until cabbage has softened fully and the moisture in the bottom of the pan has all cooked off, about 15-20 minutes, removing the lid only about every 3 minutes or so to stir. Viola! Gete's tikil gomen is ready!

Chimichurri

A perfect condiment that goes great with grilled vegetables, on sandwiches, or as a side with just about any type of fish, meat, or egg dish.

Prep time: 1/4 cocktail

1 cup finely minced Italian parsley
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 TBSP water
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
Red chili flakes to taste

Combine all in a small bowl and allow flavors to mingle at least a half hour before serving.

Arugula pesto... Because I'm a cheap bastard

So last weekend, some friends came to visit. We were going to make a big arugula salad, but alas, we had too much food so we never got around to assembling the salad. So a sad bag of arugula languished in the back of the refrigerator for several days until I finally pulled it out last night. I was going to toss it since I'm actually not a lover of salads that are heavy on arugula. But that shit is expensive. So rather than toss it, I decided to try to do something with it. Because I'm afrugula.

Yep. That was a whole paragraph of buildup for a joke that your overly cheesy uncle Ray would be ashamed to tell. But rest assured, the pesto is much better than the humor around here.

Prep time: 1/4 cocktail

2 cups packed fresh arugula
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan (no canned or pre-shredded shit)
1/2 cup raw, unsalted walnuts
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, minced
Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in food processor puree until smooth. Serve on top of pasta with your own terrible jokes. Excess pesto freezes well.

Achiote Recado Tacos... As good as Stanley Tucci eating kumquats while listening to the Pixies.

I have to admit I've never thought much about annatto, other than I got a pretty photo of it (above) on a spice plantation in Zanzibar a few years ago. Like the Omaha music scene or American soccer, while it's probably great, annatto isn't something any of us spend much time thinking about. Underrated is the word I'm looking for. Then, just like other underrated things--from kumquats to the subtle power of Stanley Tucci's acting, once you give it a try, you're totally hooked. You swoon at the thought of annatto-infused oil. You're that guy at a dinner party extolling the virtues of Indonesian annatto versus Brazilian (which, frankly, tastes like sawdust) to a captive stranger at the snack table as he desperately tries to escape your spice drivel. Which, is exactly why, my friend, you should give it a try. Become part of the underground culture who have fallen in love with this smooth, delicate spice the way way we quietly and hopelessly fell in love with the Pixies the first time we heard them. Welcome to the club.

So what is achiote recado? Well, I'm glad you asked. It's a spice blend from the Yucatan. It's a mix of annatto with other spices and sour orange juice. As I learned while living down there, it's both delicious and super popular. You can use it as a rub for any type of meat that you want to enjoy, but it goes great in tofu-based tacos too. Every time I make this, it brings me right back to eating 5 of these tacos for a couple bucks in an open air stall at the town market for lunch!

Prep time: 3 cocktails

Achiote recado:
1/4 cup annatto seeds
6 allspice berries
1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 tsp peppercorns
5 whole cloves
1 TBSP oregano
1/4 of a nutmeg pod, grated on a microplane or the finest side of a box grater
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice

Tofu:
3 TBSP canola or peanut oil
1 brick of extra-firm tofu, cut into 3/4 inch cubes

Roasted carrot refried black beans:
2 TBSP oil
1 very large carrot, cut into matchsticks
3/4 cup veggie stock, store-bought or homemade
1 14-oz can black beans, drained
Thyme (optional)

For the tacos:
Mexican style pickled onions
La Costena pickled jalepenos (available in the Mexican aisle of any grocery store), sliced
Cilantro, chopped
Tortillas, fresh or homemade

Additional optional toppings:
Avacado slices
Salsa macha

Combine all the first 5 ingredients of the achiote recado in a spice grinder or coffee grinder and grind into a powder. Transfer to a small, dry frying pan that's over medium heat and add oregano and grated nutmeg. Dry toast the spices until aromatic and just beginning to smoke a tiny bit, about 3-3 minutes. Transfer immediately to a food processor. Also, add garlic, salt and both juices to the spices in the food processor and process it.

For the tofu: in a large frying pan heat the 3 TBSP over medium-high heat. hen hot, add tofu and sauté, stirring with a spatula almost constantly, until the tofu is nicely golden brown but not burned. It may take some care to prevent the tofu from falling apart. When tofu is golden brown, add the achiote recado and stir it all together well.

While you're working on the tofu, make the beans. First in a medium saucepan, heat the 2 TBAP oil over medium heat. When hot, add the carrots and sauté until the carrots are nicely caramelized, but not burned, stirring frequently. Add veggie stock, beans, and thyme, if using. Bring to simmer for 3-5 minutes, then transfer to food processor and puree until it's smooth. Return to the saucepan and keep it warmed over super low heat.

Now assemble your tacos: throw down some beans and tofu on a tortilla and add a smattering of onions, jalepenos, and cilantro. Perfect!

Creamy cashew chutney!

This bad boy is from the south of India and goes great with literally just about any Indian dish as a cooling to medium-heat chutney.

Prep time: 1/4 cocktail

1 cup raw, unsalted cashews, chopped up a bit
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2-inch piece ginger, chopped (no more!)
1-2 small hot chilies, chopped
1/2 cup water
2 TBSP cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

Combine all ingredients EXCEPT cilantro in food processor and process until totally smooth (this will take a few minutes). Taste and adjust salt or lemon juice, if necessary. It should be a nice, spreadable chutney. If it's too thick, puree in a bit more water. Stir in cilantro and serve!

Fireball Chutney!

This toasty, spicy chutney adds some zing to any type of Indian dish where you want to add a little extra flavor and heat.

Prep time: 1/4 cocktail

1/4 cup chana dal (a type of split chickpea that's available at an Indian grocer or online)
8 dried red chilies (you can dial this up or down depending on personal preference)
8 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 1/2 tsp tamarind concentrate (I use Tamicon brand, others brands may vary in potency, so be careful!)
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2/3 tsp salt
Water or coconut milk to achieve the desired consistency

Over medium-low to medium heat, warm up the dal in a frying pan. Stirring constantly for about 5 minutes, fully toast (but don't burn!) the seeds.

Transfer the seeds to a coffee grinder and process into a smooth powder.

Transfer the chana dal powder and the other ingredients to a food processor and process until it's a smooth paste.

Amazing Jackfruit Tinga Tacos

Traditionally made with shredded chicken or beef in a spicy, smoky, and savory sauce, tinga is not dissimilar from barbecue. And, like barbecue, this dish is best served with beer. A lot of beer. In fact, I learned how to cook the chicken version of this dish while living in the Yucatan from a short, plump local woman named Lily. She drank a lot of beer when she taught me how to make it. So I know it's authentic. Logic.

You can find jackfruit at many grocery stores and Asian markets. At grocery stores, it is often sold next to the canned fruit.

Prep time: 3 cocktails (or 6 cocktails if you drink like Lily)

5 TBSP oil, divided
2 14-ounce cans jackfruit, rinsed, drained and lightly shredded
1 very large onion, peeled but not cut up
2-3 dashes of liquid smoke
1/2 tsp salt
8 cloves garlic, minced and divided
4 medium tomatoes, cored but not chopped
3/4 tsp whole peppercorns
1/2 tsp dried allspice berries
1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
8 whole cloves
3 bay leaves
1 TBSP oregeno
1/2 cup veggie stock, store-bought or homemade
The sauce (but not the peppers) from one small 7-ounce can of chipotles in adobo sauce
1 batch homemade tortillas
Pico de gallo
Mexican pickled onions
Black beans and rice (optional)
Avocado (optional)
Mexican crema or sour cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Cut the onion in half. Slice the first half into thin "half-moon" slices. Chop the other half.

Heat 3 TBSP oil over medium to medium-high heat. When hot, add shredded jackfruit. Saute jackfruit about 10-30 minutes, stirring frequently until jackfruit seems to have mostly cooked out excess water. Now add 3/4 of the chopped half of the onion and saute 7-10 more minutes. Add half the garlic and salt and saute another minute or two. If it sticks, add a bit more oil.

Now spread the jackfruit out in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet and transfer to oven. Bake for 60-75 minutes or until it looks like browned pulled pork, flipping about halfway through with a spatula.

As your jackfruit bakes, in a medium saucepan, combine tomatoes, the last little bit of chopped onion, and half of the remaining garlic over medium heat (without any oil). Cook until the tomato skin wrinkles and starts to fall off the fruit, gently stirring occasionally so all sides are wrinkled. This will take about 15 minutes. Then transfer to a food processor and buzz into a sauce.

While the tomatoes cook, combine peppercorns, allspice, cumin seeds, and cloves in a spice grinder and powder them all.

Add remaining 2 TBSP oil to a large pan and put it on medium heat. When oil shimmers, add the 'half moon' onions and saute until transparent. Add the last of the garlic and saute one more minute. Add the tomato puree and stir well. Once it begins to boil, add spice mixture from the grinder plus the bay leaves, oregano, veggie stock, and adobo. Cook until you have a marinara-like consistency, about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add jackfruit mixture and cook 3 more minutes and adjust salt if needed.

Now, when your jackfruit has baked to the point that it resembles shredded chicken or beef, stir it together it with a very amount of the sauce, spread it out on the baking sheet once again, and bake for 15 more minutes. 

Remove from heat and build yer' tacos with the jackfruit and remaining ingredients, adding additional sauce to the  jackfruit if desired. Drink beer. Love life.