Ethiopian Cabbage and Potatoes (Tikil Gomen)

It was just halloween and we (my Aunt and I) cooked up an Ethiopian feast for our annual pumpkin carving party. I made this dish, along with kik alicha (Ethiopian yellow split peas) and an egg and cauliflower berbere wat. It is one of my favorite Ethiopian foods, although as far as I can recall, I have never had anything Ethiopian that I didn't like. This is a vegan dish that I ate on occasion growing up when we would get Ethiopian from restaurants, and then started making for myself as an adult when Ethiopian restaurants were few and far between. I often serve it with Ethiopian lentils and plain rice to make a nice meal. This recipe is based off of stamarex's Ethiopian Cabbage Dish on allrecipes.com, but I've changed it quite a bit by adding more spices and some heat and complexity from jalapeños.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil (I use extra virgin)
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 4 carrots, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric or 1 or 2 Tbsp minced fresh turmeric root
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 or 2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 to 3 jalapeños, halved and seeded, and sliced if you like (optional)
• 1/2 head cabbage or 1 moderately small head cabbage, chopped or shredded (not too small)
• 5 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (I like gold potatoes with this)

Directions:

1. In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Cook the carrots and onions in the hot oil for about 5 minutes. 
2. Stir in the spices (salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric, garlic, ginger, cardamom) and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. 
3. Add the chopped cabbage and cook for 15 to 20 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir in the the potatoes and cover. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the potatoes are tender and soft (depending on the thickness of your potatoes, about 20-30 minutes). Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
5. Optional: Add jalapeno close to 10 minutes before the end of cooking. I sometimes lay halved, seeded jalapenos on top and let them steam,  but I have also stirred 1 sliced, seeded jalapeno into the dish and let it cook until it was tender and it's spiciness was released. 

Spice and Lime Scallops on a Bed of Herbs

Adapted from Scallops with Spice Oil - Bon Apetit Test Kitchen May 2012 (found on epicurious.com)

It's only been in the last few years that I've tried scallops, but I've aquired quite a taste for them. I don't eat them that often though. I first had them at a local restaurant that did a wonderful job at making them, with flavors of cumin, paprika and lime. I wanted to bring in those flavors when I made them at home. I found the Bon Apetit recipe and replaced the lemon with lime, and instead of using the herbs as a mere garnish, I instead made them the bed for the scallops so it would be a salad. When I made this, I only had parsley, so that is what I used, but I feel that cilantro (in the original recipe) would work nicely with it. Some might find it strange to eat that much parsley, but I am reminded of Joan Didion who once served parsley salad to 40 guests. Her recipe is availble on brainpickings.org.

Note: The spice oil would probably cover 4 servings of scallops, so you will have extra if you make it as written. It is quite tasty though and can be used for other things.

Yield 2 servings
Time 20 minutes
Special equipment: spice mill (or clean coffee grinder or, if you really want to work for it, mortar and pestle.

Ingredients:

For the spice oil -

• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 6 black peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt plus more
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• zest of 1 lime (I use a microplane)
• 1 Tbsp or more of fresh lime juice

For the scallops -

• 1 1/2 Tbsp avocado oil (or grapeseed, etc. for high heat cooking)
• 6-8 large or 10-12 medium sea scallops
• kosher salt and pepper
• a little sugar
• 2 cups parsley, chopped or mixed cilantro and parsley with tender stems, rinsed very well
• olive oil for drizzling
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

Directions: 

For the spice oil -

Grind first 4 ingredients with 1/2 tsp salt to a fine powder in spice mill, coffee grinder, or mortar and pestle. Transfer to a small saucepan with the olive oil and place on medium-low heat. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until the oil begins to simmer. Remove from heat and transfer to a small bowl, adding the garlic and lime zest immediately. After it has cooled for about 5 minutes, then stir in the lime juice. Season with salt, pepper, and maybe more juice to your tastes.

For the scallops -

In a large skillet, heat the avocado or other oil over high heat until the oil begins to smoke. Season scallops with salt and pepper and sprinkle on both sides with a little sugar. Sear on one side until well browned, 2-3 minutes. Using tongs, turn over and cook on the other side until just barely opaque in center, about 30 seconds.

Meanwhile, divide the herbs between two large, shallow bowls and drizzle lightly with olive oil and lime juice. Place half the scallops in each dish and spoon over the spice oil, about 2 Tbsp per bowl.