Ethiopian Meets Dessert

If you haven’t noticed, I love to eat. I love to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts; I love to eat off food trucks, I love to eat lavish meals, and I LOVE to eat new and exciting foods. It is both a blessing and a burden that I live in such a culinarily diverse city (blessing on my taste buds and overall happiness, burden on my waste line, wallet, free time). The other day I ventured to U Street, an area of D.C. known for its nightlife, restaurants and Ethiopian population.

Ethiopian cuisine is similar to Indian food in that there are many flavors and spices that coat different meats and vegetables. It is different in general flavor and, oh yeah, you eat with your hands. Imagine eating shredded beef or Sloppy Joes, or creamed spinach with your hands. Not too easy, eh? Well this is what Ethiopian food is all about. Its about combining and handling small quantities of various tastes and textures into one successful, triumphant bite. You’re probably thinking, ”you have to use some form of utensil, right?” Right. The key to Ethiopian food is the sponge-like crepe that rests underneath and soaks up every flavor of the sauces that are ever so beautifully coating the proper meats and vegetables. By itself, this “SpongeBob bread” (as my friend’s dad likes to call it) is pretty tasteless. It has the texture of a pancake that has been cut in half (crosswise, so it is thinner) and pumped air bubbles into. I really don’t know how else to describe it, but these holes are perfect for absorbing the flavors of the sauces. And the malleability of the pancake allows the food to sit in it without it ripping. My method was to rip a small portion of the pancake off and dip it into a dish, use it as a shovel and scoop the fillings into my mouth. This was definitely one of the most (if not THE most) unique eating experiences I have witnessed but it was fun, different and- although challenging- satisfying, like using chop sticks for the first time.

Rachael and her SpongeBob bread

If you were to ask me to go into detail about what the food tasted like, I would tell you no. I am telling you no. If you really want to know about the palette pleasing sensations of Ethiopian food, go out and try it yourself. I just wanted you to understand the concept so I can go into my next point. My interpretation of Ethiopian food: dessert version. Yeah, you read that right, dessert. I used real crepes instead of sponge-like crepes, and bananas, orange slices, Nutella, Greek yogurt, cinnamon sugar and macerated berries in place of the spicy saucy meats and vegetables. I made enough crepes to cover my entire kitchen table (granted, its not that large) and have extras for dipping. This was a fun and innovative way to eat crepes, perfect for a party, girls’ night in, or rainy day activity.

proof of me actually making the crepes

beautiful Nutella

now tell me that's not Food Porn worthy?!?!

Here is a general dessert crepe recipe:

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/3 cups milk

2 table spoons melted and cooled butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, butter, flour, sugar and salt until smooth. Heat a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Grease pan with butter or oil. Using a small ladle, spoon about 1/3 cup batter into hot pan, tilting the pan so that the bottom surface is evenly coated. Cook over medium heat, 1 to 2 minutes and flip for a few seconds until crepe is cooked through and golden. Serve immediately.

Here is how I made the berries (you can use just plain fresh berries too):

½ bag frozen mixed berries

½ cup water

¼ cup sugar

the juice and zest of one orange

Heat all ingredients over medium heat in a saucepan until the liquid has reduced by half and mixture is hot. Use a slotted spoon to serve over crepe, thus eliminating some of the liquid.

finished product

we made a friend :)