This weekend we had friends to dinner. I kept calling it that: “friends to dinner” not “dinner party.” I did that because last year I made a resolution to have at least one dinner party a month. And I did. It averaged out to that with only the teeniest bit of fudging of the definition of “dinner party.” I love dinner parties and having people over and I want to do it more. The problem is “dinner party” is sort of a loaded term, isn’t it? It means appetizers and lots of wine and an actual real dessert of some sort and… well, a certain amount of hassle. So I’m switching gears. I’m having more friends over for dinner. If they find themselves handed glasses of rosé cava (“oh, pink champagne!” exclaimed one guest) and platters of crudités and homemade fougasse, salumi and mostarda before moving to the dining room for an Ethiopian feast followed by an almond nougat semifreddo as were our guests this weekend, so be it. They can count themselves lucky. If they happen to get a serving of spaghetti carbonara and some terribly cheap Bordeaux Superieur I bought at Trader Joe’s on a lark because it reminded me of a dear friend in Paris with whom I used to drink copious amounts of the stuff before walking miles home in the dead of night to save 45 francs in cab fare as did our guest last night, well, that’s the luck of the draw. The point is to spend time with people without having to schlep to restaurants where we have no say in the music, have to interact with strangers to get our food, and pay dearly for the privilege (not even so much the food but the babysitting bill).
So the Ethiopian feast consisted of beef wat, a vegetable stew, lentils, and injera.
I’ve made the spongey flat-bread before and found the recipe I used a bit heavy and wet. It was the kind that uses baking soda and club soda to make the bread bubble and rise a bit. I figured that wasn’t proably “authentic” and tried a yeasted version. I still lacked teff flour, so it was nothing like the real thing, but I was much happier with the recipe I concocted by cobbling together a few versions I tracked down.
Injera
2 Tbsp. active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in the water. Let sit until bubbly, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flours and salt until smooth. It will be a very thin batter. Cover and let sit at room temperature until bubbly – at least several hours and maybe even overnight (I haven’t tested that last bit – I let mine sit for about 3 hours).
Stir in oil and eggs. Add up to 1/2 cup additional water to keep batter thin – or wait to test after cooking one flat-bread.
Heat a frying pan – the larger the better – over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, pour in 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the batter, swirl pan quickly to coat entire bottom surface, and cook, undisturbed and without flipping, until edges dry and bubbles form over entire surface and top surface looks cooked through. Transfer to a large plate and repeat with remaining batter.
Makes about 18 injera, which I found sufficient for 6 people, but I don’t know your friends.
Marc Hedlund | 06-Jan-09 at 2:00 am | Permalink
yum! I did nothing so ambitious with my most recent cooking adventure, but I did make beignets:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/precipice/3169875560/
The trick to reducing “a certain amount of hassle” with dinner parties is to put your guests to work, you know….
Molly Watson | 06-Jan-09 at 11:00 am | Permalink
Good God, then there are people in your kitchen!
You got pretty darn fancy there with your beignets, sir. All sugared and cinnamoned and chocolated. Well done!
Spinach and Honey | 07-Jan-09 at 4:45 pm | Permalink
Molly, your post is right on. I seem to have family over a lot but never friends. I am starting to wonder if I have any left after having my son 2.5 years ago. I was just thinking today that I’d like to have the stay-at-home ladies over for tea, but then I started stressing over what I would serve at tea. Any ideas?