An Ethiopian Feast - Ye'atakilt Wot (Stewed Vegetables)

Well, good news and bad news. The good news is, this is basically another very quick and easy dish. The bad news is that it requires 2 pots (and 2 burners) at a time when you are trying to finish up and serve everything. My suggestion is you finish it about half an hour before dinner time, leave it on the back of the stove or other convenient spot, and just re-heat it in the last couple minutes before serving.

I would be very willing to serve this as a side dish to some other meal altogether; some simply cooked piece of fish or chicken for example. In that case I might try to use the cabbage and the green beans both. Since I am winding up our 2 week long feast (ha! ha! no, it was gone in half an hour like every other meal) this is probably a good time to say that any of the dishes I made this week could be made in ones or twos and served with rice. I don't think it's in any way traditional but it would be really very tasty and sometimes that's the way to go, especially if you just want to give something a try.

6 to 8 servings
30 minutes prep time

Make the Spice Blend:
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Peel and mince the garlic. Peel and mince the ginger. Put them aside with the remaining spices measured and ready to go.

Cook the Vegetables:
1 medium carrot
3 cups water
3 potatoes
2 cups chopped savoy cabbage OR frozen green beans

Peel and slice the carrot. Put it in a saucepan with the water and bring it up to a boil. Set the timer for 10 minutes as soon as it goes on.

Wash, trim (or peel if you like) the potatoes, and cut them into bite-sized chunks. Add them to the carrots when the timer goes off, and set the timer for 10 minutes again. Check

Wash, trim and chop the cabbage, if using. Add it or the beans after 10 minutes and set the timer for another 5 minutes.

Fry the Onions & Finish:
1 medium onion OR 3 medium shallots
2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil

Peel and chop the onion or shallots.

When the cabbage goes into the pot put the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring regularly, until softened and translucent. Add the ginger, garlic, and spices and cook for another minutes, stirring as it cooks.

Add the seasoned onions to the pot of vegetables and mix in well. Let simmer for a further 5 or 10 minutes until well amalgamated.

This should be the right amount of water to end up with a soft, loose mixture, but if at any time during the making of this dish the water seems to have boiled away sufficiently to be insufficient, please do add some more.




Last year at this time I made Celeriac Zeytinyagli. 

Posted in: Ontario Food