Kitfo

I am not sure how to best convey the amazing-ness of this dish, except that it is perhaps the best thing I have eaten lately - right up there with those raw oysters, but better?! (And at home versus out at a fancy restaurant!) It combines warm, browned butter with onions and red pepper, incredible spices, and really nice raw meat. I nearly swooned while eating it, and have been plotting about when I can have it again. If you have been hesitant about raw meat before, this might be the gateway recipe!

Kitfo is a traditional ethiopian dish that is eaten at room temperature, which I enjoy SO much more than a cooler steak tartare (I had no idea until I'd had it this way). The spices and the browning butter smell incredible and waft through the kitchen: ginger and cardamom, chili and fenugreek.

I will confess that my only role in this meal was to discover Kitfo and pass along a few recipes. My Charming Companion actually cooked it, along with a really good (and super simple) cabbage side dish while I took a nap on the couch! The recipe here is a blend of several variations found from a search for kitfo recipes. Certainly any of them will be good, but below is the recipe as I ate it. Mine actually used the steak from a deer that was a really young fawn, so it was probably as tender as possibly available, which made this melt in my mouth. My Charming Companion's turmeric cabbage dish is also below. It used a bunch of green onions from the garden and went perfectly with the kitfo for a very ethiopian style dinner, sans the injera.

Kitfo
1 lb round steak
10 T (or one stick + 2 T) butter
1/3-1/2 c onions, chopped small
1/4 c red pepper, chopped small
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp chili flakes (or cayenne)
1/2 tsp fenugreek
pinch cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 T+ fresh lemon juice
2 T fresh chives, chopped
salt to taste

1. You want to serve your meat at room temperature, but it is easier to chop the meat when it is still a bit frozen. Ideally, you will chop the meat an hour or so before dinner: use a sharp knife and mince just as it is defrosting and still a little frozen. Let it sit out on the counter to fully defrost and get to room temp for dinner. If you don't have that kind of time, you can mince it at room temp and just have it be a little wily, or you can try to warm it very very slowly in a pan over low heat being careful not to cook it at all. (Some people do eat this slightly cooked, so you could do that if you prefer.)

Chopped raw steak!

2. Melt better on medium heat in a small saucepan. Once it is melted, add onion, red pepper and spices and let simmer 10-15 minutes. You want the butter to brown, basically as if you were making ghee with lots of stuff in it! Be sure to stir every so often.

Simmering spiced butter - smells SO good!

3. Add lemon juice and chives for the last couple of minutes. Stir butter mixture into your now room temp meat and serve!

Turmeric Cabbage
3 T coconut oil
1/3 head green cabbage, sliced/chopped thin
bunch of green onions, chopped
1 T turmeric
salt to taste

Melt coconut oil in large skillet. Once it is melted, add cabbage and sautee for 10 minutes on low heat. Add green onions and saute another few minutes before adding turmeric and salt. Stir to coat, and continue cooking another couple of minutes before serving.

Steak Tartare

My second "real job" (not including baby-sitting or cleaning my neighbor's house, but after being a "sandwich artist" at the local Subway) was busing tables at the Hotel Sofitel in Bloomington. I filled in at two of the three restaurants, and piled plates high on my tray and occasionally dropped them all. I learned about all kinds of french food while working there, including bouillabaise and coq au vin. I also learned about steak tartare, which I assumed was extremely fancy because it was one of the priciest items on the menu. I was fascinated by how it was served - all the ingredients looked so pretty, but also so strange to think of eating raw meat with raw egg yolk.

I have eaten raw beef before - sliced thinly and dipped in butter, but up until last weekend had not tried, or even thought much about steak tartare. But then I had some, and it was really good, and now I can't wait to try a bunch of different raw beef dishes from different cuisine traditions. Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions includes several, and she also writes a bunch in the margins about the possible health benefits of raw versus cooked meat.

Anyhow - it's a fun way to eat something familiar and have it taste totally different. Tartare is almost pate like, but more fresh and less creamy. I used Sally Fallon's recipe (which I am writing below, though I didn't have everything so mine was modified a bit). The big thing with raw meat is that it needs to be frozen for at least 14 days so that you can safely eat it. Any bacteria will be killed in that amount of time. So - if you buy some fresh meat, make sure it is grass fed and finished and from a farm you know, and freeze it for 2 weeks before you eat it! I used some of the venison burger I helped grind last fall, but you could also use nicer cuts of meat. Hilltop Family Farms at the Midtown Farmer's Market (starts tomorrow!) sells a "Gourmet burger" that uses the whole animal for the burger, not just left over bits - it would be a good tartare option. I read something that said the flavor of raw beef in tartare is superior when you mince the meat by hand (use a sharp knife on slightly still frozen meat) as opposed to grind/food process, so that might be worth an experiment!

Steak Tartare
1 pound ground sirloin or filet, frozen 14 days and thawed, ground or minced
1 medium onion, finely minced
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped (I used fresh chives from the garden instead)
3 tablespoons Dijon-type mustard
2 egg yolks
sea salt, pepper and cayenne pepper (to taste)
1 cup small capers, drained, rinsed and dried (I didn't have those)

If you want to go the fancy Hotel Sofitel way, you can serve everything as is, without being mixed yet but in divided portions (I'd just go with extra egg yolks in that case - it will only make it more creamy). Otherwise, mix everything together and divide to serve. This stuff is on the rich side, so a pound of meat will likely yield 4 servings.

I ate mine with hard boiled eggs and sauerkraut, but it would be good with salad greens, almond crackers, fried taro (the Sofitel served it with a big side of pommes frites), or pretty much anything!

Key Lime Kream Bars

This recipe is from a cute little cookbook called Ani's Raw Food Desserts by Ani Phyo (who has branded herself an "eco-lifestylist"). Oh my. Anyway, I'm excited about some of the recipes because they are so easy! (And very tasty.)

I cut this one in half because I didn't have 4 cups of cashews--it worked just fine.

4 c. cashews
1 c. lime juice
1/2 c. agave nectar
1/2 c. liquid coconut oil
1 c. water, as needed (I probably used 1/4 c. water)

Combine everything in a food processor (or high-speed blender) and process until smooth. Scoop the mixture into a pie dish and freeze until chilled. Cut into bars to serve.

Yum!