Niter Kibbeh (Ethiopian spiced butter)

My first encounter with Niter Kibbeh was through making kitfo in 2013. I'd never had kitfo in the world, so I had no idea what this recipe was supposed to be like. When I later ate it in various Ethiopian restaurants, I laughed at my attempt: there was a likeness, but it also was a bit unrecognizable. The main difference is that I made spiced butter but I didn't strain it, or actually complete the process, and instead just mixed in the whole thing with meat. It was still good, but not nearly as smooth or subtle. As I've gotten more familiar with Ethiopian dishes, I see that my kitfo was more like kitfo dulet, which has peppers and onions added in. So, fast forward to more recently: I had not made Niter Kibbeh until now because I kept being gifted it. Now I am out, and it is time to make my own in order to cook Christmas dinner tomorrow!

This butter is necessary for many Ethiopian recipes - without it you miss some key flavor. I use Niter Kibbeh most often now with tibs (recipe forthcoming) and greens, but also with cabbage or eggs. It is needed for shiro (chickepea dish), which is creamy and delicious and I will post sometime. Generally this butter makes any dish better.

There are different recipes for making Niter Kibbeh, but some months ago I bought a butter spice packet from Shega Foods in Minneapolis, which is also where I buy all-teff injera. (Shega Foods is in the old Seward Co-op space, and they also sell Niter Kibbeh if you want to buy some ready made.) I have no idea what is in this spice mix, and I decided to consider that it was all of the dry spices, and to still add onion, garlic and ginger. I also threw in a cinnamon stick, just because. I think I was right, because the final product turned out really well: right coloring, and very nice flavor. Link here for a recipe without the spice mix.

Niter Kibbeh (makes just under a pint)
1 pound butter (no salt)
small onion, chopped
2 T minced garlic cloves
3 T minced ginger
cinnamon stick (opt)
2 T Qibe Materia (Spiced Butter Mix from Shega Foods)

1) Chop butter in pieces and melt on low heat in a heavy saucepan. Add all ingredients.

2) Simmer on low for 60-90 minutes. This process is just the same as making ghee - you are separating out the milk solids, which sink to the bottom or stick to the sides of the pot. You want to be careful to not burn the spices or the bits. They can brown, but not burn - so keep the heat very low!!

3) After the allotted time, turn off heat an let sit for some minutes. Pour through cheese cloth or a fine sieve to remove spices and milk fat bits.

4) Let sit out to cool, and then store in the fridge or freezer. It will last a long time!

Ghee!

I am planning a 2 week BWCA trip in early May - although with the weather going the way it is, I am not sure that the lakes will be iced out yet. You can actually check the DNR for ice out dates for lakes in the state (and for median ice out dates too) from past years. My Charming Companion and I are planning to go to Saganaga on May 12th, which is one of the last lakes in the state to ice out because it is large and pretty far north. In the past 25 years, it looks like the ice has always been gone by then except for three times: '89, '96, and '08. I wonder what will happen?!

I am going forth as though some kind of trip will happen, and am doing some of the pre-trip food prep. This week I made a big batch of ghee. I use ghee a lot of the time at home, but it is perfect for camping because it is stable without refrigeration and tastes so good. It's very simple too (and WAY cheaper than buying pre-made stuff) - it just takes some time where you need to be fairly attentive. Though actually, I got sucked in to my new Nalo Hopkinson novel, and forgot about it for an hour, but it was okay due to the low heat. Whew.

One pound of butter will yield just under 2 cups of ghee. I was making 4 pounds all at one time, and it took about an hour and a half on very low heat. If you only make a pound at a time, it will only take 20-25 minutes. I like to use pastured butter, which comes lightly salted. I would prefer to use non salted butter - but alas. The salt all condenses into the milk solids that are the bi-product of the ghee. They are actually super tasty if you can digest milk, so I like to cook with those or put them on roasted veggies. But they are salty with the salted butter!

Making Ghee:
1. Unwrap the butter sticks and put them in a heavy pot on medium heat to melt. Stay nearby for this part because it goes pretty quickly. The butter will melt and will start to foam at the top. As soon as that happens, turn the heat down to low. I always stick a wooden spoon in the pot too - it breaks up the surface so that bubbles can get out and not be trapped by the foamy layer (otherwise it can bubble up in one big bubble that can get over-excited and leave the pan - messy and dangerous).

Foamy! This is shortly after all the butter has melted.

2. Now you are just watching and waiting for the water to cook off and the butter to clarify. There will be some crackling sounds, and the liquid under the foam will gradually become clear and golden. There will be milk solids that start to settle on the bottom and sides of the pot. At first they will be light in color, and they will gradually darken. The foam at the top will also start to disappear. You can stop cooking the ghee at any point after the liquid is clear and the milk solids at the bottom are brown. Be careful not to go too long or your ghee will have a bit of a burnt taste from the very browned/burned milk solids.
 

You can see the browned milk solids on the bottom, and a little foam left. Almost done!

3. Let the ghee cool for a bit in the pot, then pour it through a strainer and/or cheesecloth into jars. This will capture any bits of milk solids so that the ghee can be shelf stable. At this point, I stir in a little salt (2 pinches per pint jar) because I like it that way, but you can also leave it plain.

The ghee is now sit out on the counter as you make your way through it - or you can store it in the freezer or fridge. I will transfer two of these to a plastic, non-leaking nalgene bottle for the camping trip. Mmmm.

Oyster Stew!

This recipe is so simple, and so incredibly delicious. Really, how can you go wrong with oysters, butter, and cream - which comprise the bulk of this recipe. The original recipe (from an internet search seeking something flour-free) was modified just a bit - primarily by trading half and half for chicken stock and heavy cream. The oysters I got were huge, and this soup was pretty much to. die. for. Swoon.

Oyster Stew serves 4 and takes about 20 minutes total!
1 stick of butter
1 c minced celery
1/4 c minced shallots (onions worked great for me, I added a bit extra)
1 pint chicken stock
1 pint heavy cream (I ended up not using all of it - a little less was plenty)
24 oz or 1 1/2 lbs fresh, shucked oysters with the juice
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Pinch of cayenne pepper to taste

1. Melt the butter in a large heavy pot. Add onions/shallots and celery, and cook until onions are tender (about 5 minutes).
2. Add broth to pot and let heat a minute or two over medium high heat. Add cream and stir continuously to heat. Just before boiling (you will see lots of little bubbles start to rise), pour the oysters and their liquid into the pot. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Stir continuously until the "oysters curl at the ends." My Charming Companion and I determined this to be after just a few minutes or so, maybe 4. When the ends are "curled" the stew is done and you can turn off the heat. Taste the soup to check your salt and pepper, adjust if needed.
3. Serve immediately! You could garnish with parsley if you had some.
*This was also very tasty when I reheated leftovers the following day. OMG. so good. It was also nice with the crackers from my previous post...you can break them up like oyster crackers!

Tilapia

My favorite new fishy discovery is tilapia.  I can't believe it took me so long to try it.  I have never been a big fan of cod and a couple other types of white fish, so I thought it would be in that same taste category, but it's not.  It is so much tastier, at least to me.

I'm sure you can get really fancy when preparing tilapia but my favorite thing to do is pan sear it with butter and lemon juice.  It's easy, light, and flavorful.  Plus, the other bonus about fish is that it cooks very quickly, so if you are hungry, it won't take long to get this yummy meal on the table.

I like to pair my fish with a green vegetable.  In the picture I have the stems from some baby bok choy sautéing next to the tilapia.  This was a good combination.  I have also done green beans recently since I have been getting some really beautiful beans from my garden.

Ingredients:
1-2 tilapia filets
a few lemon slices
1 Tbsp butter or ghee
sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat some of the butter or ghee in the pan.  Put the rest of the butter on the fish along with salt and pepper.  I like to slice the lemon and lay it on top of the fish as it cooks.  The lemon flavor slowly infuses, and then I squeeze the lemon on top right before eating.  It only takes 5-7 minutes for the fish to cook.  If the fish is larger I flip it over and cook both sides, but if the fish is thin this isn't necessary.  The crispy edges are especially tasty.

Enjoy!