Kitfo

Ingredients

• 600g beef fillet or very lean topside, absolutely fresh
• 80g niter kibbeh
• 2 tsp mitmita chilli blend, plus more to serve
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp salt
• 200g ayib, or 200g dry-curd cottage cheese drained well
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 300g collard greens or spring greens, shredded (gomen)
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Injera, to serve

Before you cook

• Buy the beef from a butcher you trust the same day you plan to eat it, and tell them it will be eaten raw.
• Chill the beef in the freezer for 20 minutes so it firms up and is easier to cut.
• Trim off every scrap of fat and sinew, then chop the beef by hand with a heavy sharp knife into a very fine mince, working in small batches.
• Keep the minced beef covered in the fridge until the moment you serve it.
• Stir the lemon juice and a pinch of salt through the ayib and keep it cold.
• Wash and finely shred the greens.

Steps

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook the chopped onion for 6 minutes until soft.
2. Add the garlic and the shredded greens with a splash of water, cover, and cook for 10 minutes until tender.
3. Season the greens with a pinch of salt and set the pan aside off the heat.
4. Melt the niter kibbeh in a small pan over low heat until it is just liquid and warm, not hot.
5. Stir the mitmita, cardamom and salt into the warm butter and let it stand for 2 minutes.
6. Take the minced beef from the fridge and put it in a wide bowl.
7. Pour the spiced butter over the beef and work it through with a spoon for a full minute until every strand glistens and the meat turns from bright red to a deeper rust.
8. Taste a little and add more mitmita or salt to your liking.
9. Spoon the kitfo onto injera with the ayib on one side and the greens on the other, and serve straight away.
10. If anyone prefers it cooked, warm their portion in a dry pan for 60 seconds to leb leb, which is just barely done.