Ethiopian Lamb Curry

(not my picture)

A friend gave me a big jar of spice from Ethiopia called berbere, and on day one I enthusiastically chucked this together...just going for the vibe. It turned out great, and I still make the same thing from time to time. You absolutely need berbere to make this dish. I've checked online and it seems to be widely available in the UK.

INGREDIENTS

• Lamb, lean, appropriate for frying, cubed and dusted with seasoned flour
• Potatoes, in chunks, par-boiled
• Dried figs – 4 chopped in quarters 
• Onion, 1 large sliced
• Garlic puree - 1 dsp
• Ginger puree - 1 dsp 
• Stock - up to 1 pint, 
• Rosemary, fresh is good
• Berbere spice
• Salt

METHOD

1. Fry the onion
2. Add the garlic and ginger for a couple of minutes
3. Add the lamb fry on high until just sealed
4. Add a heaped dessert spoon of berbere and coat the meat, fry for a couple of minutes
5. Add the potatoes, figs, salt and sprigs of rosemary – couple more mins
6. Add the stock and bring to the boil, then lower to a simmer for a few minutes
7. Remove rosemary and serve.

Good served with flatbreads or cous cous, yoghurt, honey…
I've also done this using dried apricots instead of figs

Enchilada Sauce

(not my picture)

While it's good that Old El Paso have shelf space in the UK supermarkets, the only things I buy are the corn tortillas and the jalapenos. Anyway, try finding a jarred or tinned enchilada sauce in the UK, and I don't mean the powdered monstrosity in O.E.P.'s "enchilada kit." So you gotta make your own. As with all my Mexican recipes, you need a good green chili paste, but the rest is basic stuff.

INGREDIENTS

• Onion - 1 very finely chopped
• Garlic puree - 1 heaped dsp
• Green chili paste/puree - enough to make as hot as you like it
• Chicken and/or veg stock about 200ml plus as much water as required
• Tomato juice/pasata 70ml
• Garlic powder - 2 tsp
• Cornstarch - heaped dsp disolved in cold water
• Lime juice - 1 dsp - plus more at the end to-taste
• Oil
• Salt

METHOD

1. Slowly soften the onion in oil, then add the salt and garlic paste for 3 more minutes
2. Add everything else, ending with the cornstarch. Simmer for 10 mins.
3. Taste the sauce, adjusting garlic/chili/salt/lime etc to taste, and adjusting water and cornstarch for consistancy. 
4. Keep simmering for a while longer, and don't make it too thick!