sounds lovely 
you could cook something from it an dpost it here 
I am pretty sure you will be fine 
Hehe, you believe, a successful roll of cooking is possible without proficiency…
But sure, here is a fitting Cthuluian-horror-tale about my culinary skills.
Sometimes I make tea. You might assume, nobody can fail making a tea, as
it is so simple and foolproof. But here is my counter-proof.
A friend of mine has visited me once. I offered him some tea.
He drank it and we continued discussing other topics.
Since then, every time, when he visits me, he brings his own drink (!),
politely always refuses a cup of tea (!!) and in worst case, if he really must drink
something else, he chooses tap water, which I happen to know he hates (!!!).
Conclusion: if you think “I’m not such a good cook”, always remember about the
guy in the forum who failed to make even one of the most basic liquids.
Doro Wat
Ethiopian/Eritrean spicy chicken stew with tons of caramelized red onions 
every part symbolizes one of the 12 Apostles
a bit of warning … that’s a lot of work, but totally worth it
for 1 chicken:
- a chicken including the innards
- ~ 4 lemons
- water
- red onions, diced; ~ equal to the weight of the chicken (so about 1.5 kg)
- 1/2 a carrot; grated
- a bit of fennel; grated
- lots of berbere (spice mix; see below)
- ginger paste; 3 tablespoons
- niter kibbeh (spiced ghee; see below); 50g-75g
- 6 eggs
- a bit of nutmeg
if you cannot find berbere, you can make your own
(keep in mind that every family has its own perfect version)
contains:
- lots of chilly powder
- lots of garlic powder
- solid amount of coriander powder
- solid amount of cardamom powder (ideally Indian black cardamom if you can find that)
- a bit of cinnamon powder
- a bit of of besobela (Ethiopian holy basil)
- a bit of fenugreek powder
- a bit of smoked paprika powder
- a bit of black pepper; grinded
- a bit of cloves powder
- a bit of tumeric
(I don’t add ginger powder here, since I add ginger paste later anyway)
(also I don’t add onion powder here, since this dish contains plenty of onions anyway)
if you cannot find niter kibbeh, you can make your own
(keep in mind that every family has its own perfect version)
just make ghee from butter (just be careful that it does not burn!)
and add the following spices:
- besobela (Ethiopian holy basil)
- cardamom (ideally Indian black cardamom if you can find that)
- kosseret (you can subtitude oregano, or better Mexican oregano)
- cinnamon
- cumin
- a bit of nutmeg
LET’S START
Remove the skin of the chicken, but keep it
seperate the chicken into 12 pieces:
right & left thigh, right & left leg, left & right wing, left & right breast, heart, liver, neck, the skin
Make deep cuts in the meat so the heat as well as the sauce can reach the insides
(esp. where the meat is thick)
Take a big bowl and put the chicken pieces inside
half the lemons and squease them into the bowl, then add the lemons halves
Fill the bowl with cold water and let it rest
Dice the red onions and put them into a very big pot
put the pot on medium heat
now caramelize the onions in their own moisture
keep stirring so nothing burns
this process will take about 60 to 90 minutes!
(should they be in danger of being burned, add some drops of hot water)
~2.5 kg of diced red onions after caramelizing them for 90 minutes
After the onions have been caramelized, reduce the heat to low
add lots of berbere (see above) and the grated carrot & fennel into the pot
give a few minutes, while stirring so that nothing burns
Add the ginger paste and give it another minute or so,
then add the niter kibbeh (see above) to the pot
Now back to the bowl 
drain the water and refill it with cold water
continue this process till the water that you drain is free of impurities
Remove the chickes pieces and dispose the lemon halves
Add the chicken pieces to the pot, the skin first
Cover the pot with a lid and
let it simmer for 40 minutes
Meanwhile
boil the eggs so that they are almost hard boiled, but still soft inside (~7min)
peel them and give each 4 deep vertical slices with a sharp knife
After the pot has simmered for 40 minutes,
add the eggs to your pot and carefully mix well
add a bit of grinded nutmeg
put the lid back on top
and let it simmer for another 5-10 more minutes
Take the chicken pieces out to serve and half the eggs on the plate
DONE
P.S.: traditionally served with Injera (sour fermented flatbread), I served it with safron rice instead
P.P.S: a good video can be found here
1 Like
Lung Roast Gugelhupf
“Gugelhupf” is an Austrian ring cake of some sorts, and aside from this meaty version, sweet
for 1 “Gugelhupf”:
- lard, to fat your form
- 300g-400g bacon strips (depends on the shape/size of your Gugelhupf-form)
- 200g dried diced bread (“Semmelwürfel”)
- 200g Emmentaler cheese, grinded
- 3 eggs
- a bit of parsley, thinly chopped, about 2-3 tablespoons
- 2 pork lung roasts
- garlic powder
- pepper
- salt
- olive oil
LET’S START
First use the lard to fat your Gugelhupf-form
make sure to reach every spot
Then lay out the insides with bacon strips.
Take the 2 lung roasts and season them with salt and garlic powder.
Now take a pan with a bit of olive oil and quickly brown those on all sides and take then out again to rest.
Season the lung roasts with pepper afterwards.
Take a big bowl and fill it with the grinded cheese, the dried bread dices, the eggs and a bit of thinly chopped parley.
Mix it well and also let it rest for a while.
After 10-15 minutes or so, start to fill the form with the mix from your bowl.
After you have filled half of the Gugelhupf-form put in the lung roasts in a semi-circle each, so that they form a circle together.
Now fill the rest of the form with the filling you have left from the bowl.
Cover it with aluminum foil and let it rest in your fridge overnight.
On the next day:
Preheat your oven to 180°C.
Put in your filled Gugelhupf-form.
After 30 minutes remove the aluminum foil,
and give it another 30 minutes.
(That way the bottom will get crispy but will not burn.)
Take it out and flip it on a plate.
Cut it like a cake to serve.
DONE
2 Likes
Parthian Chicken
This recipe is from the Apicius a collection of Roman cookery recipes thought to have been compiled in the fifth century AD. Most of the stuff written there you cannot make today (also for animal wellfare reasons), but this one works quite nicely.
The orginal Roman herb used, silphium, is lost, but asofoetida should come close.
- chicken pieces
- olive oil
- asafoetida powder (the one mixed with blue fenugreek is better)
- red wine (I used a Chianti)
- caraway seeds, grinded
- black pepper corns, a few, grinded
- lovage, finely chopped
first cut the meat where it is thick, so that the heat can reach everything
also cut the senews at the legs, so that the meat does not dry there, when it will contract
brown the chicken pieces in olive oil on all sides
add a solid amount of fermented fish sauce
dissolve lots of asafoetida powder in water and add it as well
add a healthy dose of red wine as well
grind your pepper & caraway seeds and add them
add the finely chopped lovage
cover it with a lid
let everything boil till the meat is tender
(maybe change the position of the chicken pieces from time to time)
DONE
P.S.: asafoetida has a pungent smell (especially when you also have added the fermented fish sauce). The smell completely goes away when the dish has been cooked … although its aroma stays.
P.P.S.: you can make this dish in a pan or in the oven … the results are basically the same here
P.P.P.S.: an original sidedish would have been bread … but I served it with rice instead
