It’s taken me a while to recover from my recent trip to Ethiopia, for so many reasons!
Firstly, it was pretty tough from the point of being at a higher altitude than normal (Gondar is at an altitude of 7,300 ft – and from there we climbed higher) then, having decided to climb to the fourth highest peak in Africa (Ras Dashen at 14,928 ft) we also camped along the way, so no home comforts (or anything close!). But the most difficult thing for me was coming to terms with the poverty that we came across along the way – it was worse than anything I have experienced in any other place I’ve visited (and I’ve been to a lot of third world countries), but still the people are smiling – how do they do that? For anybody that is not satisfied with their life back here in the UK, go and spend a few weeks in Ethiopia, and realise how lucky you are.
Apart from the poverty, the area I spent time in was stunningly beautiful – the Simien Mountains are a UNESCO World Heritage site and it’s easy to see why – you can sit on the top of a mountain, surrounded by beautiful tame baboons, watch ibex grazing (the only place in the world where you will find this amazing animal) and listen to the black kites making their calls as they fly overhead. All this, and just mountains as far as the eye can see.
As usual, for me it was also a chance to see what food the Ethiopians live on, and it turns out that they have a fantastic crop that they have been growing for years – a grain that is gluten-free and richer in nutrients than most other grains.
Tef, which is available in the UK but at the moment doesn’t seem to be that well known, is rich in protein, calcium and fibre, along with many other important minerals and vitamins.
In Ethiopia the main food tef flour is used for is injera, a kind of fermented flat bread that is used as the plate before eating it. It was an interesting texture (a bit like the top of a crumpet), and the sourness quite odd, but when eaten with the lovely spicy lentil dishes and vegetables it did seem to work!
I didn’t take much into the mountains with me, but still I had more clothes than most, so eventually I gave them all away. Which meant I had plenty of room in my suitcase to bring back 8kg of tef flour!! The market sellers were not happy at selling such a small amount (?) and amazingly I wasn’t stopped at the airport for having 8kg of white powder in my case!
So now have enough tef flour to experiment with for the next few weeks – keep looking for the new recipes coming your way. And obviously if you don’t want to buy tef flour you can use other gluten-free flours in the recipes.
Serves 4
125g teff (I used red tef)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
1 egg
175ml dairy-free milk
25g unsalted butter, melted
50g blueberries
50g raspberries
1 tbsp olive oil
maple syrup to serve (optional)
- In a large bowl mix together the flour, cinnamon and baking powder.
- Whisk together the egg and milk and then whisk into the flour until smooth – the mixture should be the consistency of thick double cream – add a little more milk if needed.
- Stir in the butter and half the blueberries and raspberries.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, then spoon tablespoons of the mixture into the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes until golden underneath then flip over and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter.
- Serve with the remaining berries and a drizzle of maple syrup if wished.