Spiced ghee (eritrean/ethiopian)

I usually buy ghee and add the spices to it, rather than doing my own clarifying.

in a small heavy pot, melt  1 pound of butter or ghee with:

1 small chopped white onion

finely chopped 3 cloves garlic 

1 inch piece of ginger  minced or grated 

1 small cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1 teaspoon fenugreek
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
4 cloves 
4 cardamom pods (black if you can get them) with the skins crushed/broken 
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon turmeric 

Simmer gently for an hour or so, then strain and dispose of the spices. 

Berbere spice mix

If you can't find somewhere to buy it, try the following:

Toast whole spices in a small cast iron skillet, cool and grind, add powered spices.

2 teaspoons whole corainder

1 teaspoon whole cumin

1 teaspoon fenugreek 

1 teaspoon peppercorns 

4-6 cardomom pods 

4 cloves 

dried chilies or 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 

2 tablespoons paprika 

1 teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 

1/2 teaspoon ginger 

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon turmeric. 

Chicken Zigni

My recipe for Chicken Zigni (also known as Doro Wot) comes from a half-remembered lesson in Asmara more than 15 years ago, a cookbook  and some possibly not-very-authentic online recipes  such as this one and this one .

Hard boil 4 eggs and peel them.

4 - 6 large red onions
spiced ghee
water

Chop the onions as finely as you can (use a food processor if you have one) and then sauté them for 1-2 hours in a deep heavy bottomed pan with some of the ghee, and a cup or more of water.  they should be very soft and almost paste like.  If it gets too dry add more water.


add:

2-3 teaspoons berbere or to taste
finely chopped garlic
minced or grated ginger
more ghee if needed

add the chicken and cook until tender.  Before serving add the eggs and heat through.

Overnight sourdough waffles

I love these waffles.  

Blend together: 

100 g sourdough starter 
460 g buttermilk/kefir/yogurt/milk 
100 g melted butter 
250 g spelt flour 

let sit overnight or until lunchtime. 

stir in 1/2 tsp bicarb 

separate two eggs. beat yolks together and add to batter.  beat whites until firm and fold in. 

cook on waffle iron or griddle. 

Starter maintenance simplified

This starter maintenance guide  https://www.theperfectloaf.com/weekend-baking-schedule/ is revolutionary.  But hard to follow/find/keep track of. 

A simplified version follows:

Thursday afternoon:   take starter out of fridge to warm up.  

Thursday night: refresh: 30g starter; 100 g rye flour (or half rye; half plain) ; 100 g water

Friday morning: refresh 15 g starter; 100 g flour; 100g water

Friday evening: refresh 15 g starter; 100 g flour; 100g water 

Saturday morning: refresh 15 g starter; 100 g flour; 100g water 

Saturday night: put starter back in fridge - 10 g starter; 100 g flour; 80 g water 

Rich dough for brioche, buns etc

Over the years we've followed Dan Lepard and Andrew Whiteley religiously for sourdough, but my favourite results come from this blog: https://www.theperfectloaf.com   In particular, his guide for starter has transformed how I make sourdough. and his recipes - especially pizza and brioche dough are spectacular. But I find his recipes incredibly hard to follow - literally, the way they are written requires scrolling back and forth.  So, am going to write this recipe (and maybe others) out in a more usable form.

The original is here. Check it out for lush reading and pictures.

https://www.theperfectloaf.com/sourdough-cinnamon-rolls/

200 g starter
133 g milk
4 large eggs
48 g sugar

Blend in bowl of stand mixer with dough hook fitted.  Blend in:
477 g bread flour

Let rest for 10 minutes.

Add in small pieces:
191 g unsalted butter

Let rise in buttered bowl for about 2 hours.  Fold knead stretch 2-3 times during the rise.

Chill in bowl for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Roll out into rectangle onto floured silicone sheet.   Cover with toppings (cinnamon sugar, cardamom, chopped nuts).  Roll and slice or form into other shapes.

Let rise for 1-2 hours.

Bake: 40-50 mins 180C

optional: top with cream cheese glaze