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Ethiopia, Middle East and Africa

Kitfo (Leb Leb)

Ethiopia's celebration dish: finely minced lean beef folded into warm spiced butter and fiery mitmita, served just warmed with fresh cheese and greens.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time33 min
DifficultyMedium
About servingsTraditional kitfo is eaten raw (tire), and leb leb is still partly raw. Raw or undercooked beef can carry harmful bacteria: buy a whole cut from a trusted butcher, mince it the same day and keep it cold. Children, pregnant women, older people and anyone with a weakened immune system should eat only the fully cooked version (step 5, until no pink remains).

Method

  1. Keep the beef in the fridge until the last moment. If it is a whole piece, trim off all fat and sinew, slice it thinly, then chop with a sharp knife until very fine; or ask the butcher to mince lean beef twice on the day you cook. Finely chop the garlic and onion, grate the ginger, lightly crush the cardamom pods, and cut the greens into thin ribbons after removing the tough stems.

  2. Make the gomen: heat the oil in a 24 cm pan over medium heat, add the onion and chili and cook until soft. Add the greens and part of the salt and stir for , until wilted and tender but still bright green. Transfer to a bowl.

    Add in this stepVegetable oil 1½ tbspOnion ½Green chili 1Collard greens or kale 160 gSalt ¼ tsp

    medium heat

  3. Wipe out the pan or use a clean 20 cm pan. Melt the ghee over low heat with the garlic, ginger, fenugreek and cardamom and let it bubble gently for , until fragrant and the garlic is soft but not brown. Browned garlic tastes bitter, so turn the heat down if it colours. Lift out the cardamom pods.

    Add in this stepGhee or niter kibbeh (Ethiopian spiced butter) 35 gGarlic cloves 1Fresh ginger 8 gFenugreek seeds ½ tspGreen cardamom pods 2

    low heat

  4. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the mitmita and the rest of the salt. Wait a few seconds: the butter should be warm, not sizzling, or it will cook the beef too fast.

    Add in this stepMitmita (Ethiopian chili blend), or cayenne mixed with a little ground cardamom and clove 1 tspSalt ½ tsp

  5. Add the beef and fold it through the spiced butter with a spatula, breaking up any clumps. Return to low heat and toss for : this is leb leb, warm and glossy, with the outside just turning pale and the inside still pink. For the fully cooked version (yebesele), keep stirring for more until no pink remains.

    Add in this stepLean beef (top round or sirloin), very fresh, finely minced 240 g

    low heat

  6. Spoon the kitfo onto a plate with the ayib and gomen beside it and serve at once with injera, tearing off pieces to scoop everything up.

    Add in this stepAyib (Ethiopian fresh cheese), or ricotta or cottage cheese 100 gInjera (or flatbread) 2

Cook's tip

Use the leanest, freshest beef you can find; fat turns waxy in leb leb. Mitmita varies a lot in heat, so taste the spiced butter before adding the beef. Serve immediately: kitfo does not keep or reheat well.

Cooking it at camp

Leb leb is a poor fit for camping because the beef must stay below 4 °C until it is cooked. If you do make it, carry the beef in a well-iced cooler, cook only the fully done version in a small pan on a gas burner, and use flatbread instead of injera.