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Ethiopia is the only serious book in English on one of the world's most distinctive cuisines, and that cuisine resembles nothing else.
Yohanis Gebreyesus is an Ethiopian chef, trained at the Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon, who returned to Addis Ababa, where he runs a restaurant and presents a television cookery programme. The book was written together with food writer Jeff Koehler.
Everything begins with injera. It is a fermented flatbread made from teff, a small indigenous grain, whose batter is left to sour for several days until it becomes spongy and tart. Injera is not an accompaniment but both plate and cutlery. Food is placed directly on it, pieces are torn off and used to eat with the hands, and everyone eats from the same platter.
The seasoning rests on berbere, the chilli spice blend that forms the basis of almost everything, and niter kibbeh, clarified butter cooked with spices. From these come the stews known as wat, including doro wat, made with chicken and hard-boiled eggs and regarded as the national dish. Alongside them are shiro, made from chickpea flour, and kitfo, raw minced beef with spiced butter.
The most remarkable aspect, however, is fasting. Ethiopian Orthodox Christians abstain from animal products for up to 200 days a year, and as a result the country has developed one of the world's deepest vegetarian repertoires without anyone ever calling it that. It is not a trend but a thousand-year-old practice.
The book also covers coffee. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, and the ceremony surrounding it is one of the country's most important social institutions.
The book won the James Beard Award for Best International Cookbook and the IACP Julia Child Award for best first book.
Format: Hardback
Co-author: Jeff Koehler
Publisher: Kyle Books
ISBN: 9780857834669
Language: English
First published: 2018
