From what I’ve seen of Ethiopian cooking, meat dishes and stews are exactly that: meat. While stews in the United States are a one pot affair mixing the veggies and meat together, you’re going to have to make a separate dish if you’d like some Ethiopian veggies with your meal.
For a relatively short ingredient list, this stew packs a whole lot of flavor. That’s mostly due to the complexity of the basic ingredients like nit’ir qibe and berbere. When I was getting ready to cook this I got asked what I was making since it smelled so good. At that point I had only melted the nit’ir qibe!
And even without the meat, this hearty vegetable stew is warming and filling. If you have leftover, unused green beans, potatoes and/or carrots from your Thanksgiving, this would be a creative and unique way to use ‘em up. But be sure to have some ayib (or yogurt or cottage cheese…) on hand to temper the heat. Otherwise, you might want to reduce the berbere by just a bit.
Yetakelt W’et- Spicy Mixed Vegetable Stew
Yield: 4-6 side servings
Ingredients:
* 1/4 cup nit’ir qibe (or substitute ghee or oil), divided
* 1 onion, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 Tablespoon berbere
* 1 Tablespoon paprika
* 1/2 pound green beans, ends trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
* 2 carrots, peeled and sliced into thick rounds
* 1 potato, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
* 15-ounce can diced tomatoes in their juice
* 15-ounce can chicken or vegetable broth (approximately 1 3/4 cups)
* salt and pepper
* chopped cilantro for topping
* ayib for topping
Directions:
Heat half of the nit’ir qibe in a large saucepan or French skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened. Add the remaining nit’ir qibe and the garlic, berbere, paprika and cook, stirring, another 2-3 minutes. Add the green beans, carrots, and potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.
Add the diced tomatoes (and their juice) and the broth and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for about 14 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Top with cilantro and ayib. Serve with injera or your favorite grain.