Finally, Ethiopic Restaurant Comes to H Street!

It's been a long week already, so to cope, Mr. Luz and I spent the night tucked into a huge pile of some amazing comfort food at Ethiopic Restaurant.

Ethiopic just opened behind Union Station on H Street NE, and the space and staff are as welcoming as the food.  Mr. Luz and I sat in a romantic alcove with a large window, so we had a little privacy while also sharing the softly lit dining room and piano music with the rest of the guests.  (Ethiopic is lined top to bottom with windows, and I can't wait to go there for a sunny Friday lunch.) Sam, the owner, accepted our ecstatic compliments on the food and the decor but said in the same breath "please tell us if anything changes, we are always looking for feedback."  Everything was so wonderful, I think we'll just have to go back at least once a week to stay on top of that for Sam.

If you've never had Ethiopian food, you'll love Ethiopic.  It serves richly flavored, spiced and stewed meat dishes with lamb, beef, and chicken and dark, delightful vegetarian dishes like curried potatoes with garlic, herbs and jalapeno, and split red lentils stewed with red pepper sauce.  And yes, you eat with your hands.  Like people used to do for thousands of years, until someone somewhere around 1800 B. C. (Before CrateandBarrel) decided to make a quick buck by telling folks that they should eat with metal shards.  In a comparably civilized manner, at Ethiopic you pick up each bite in spongy injera (a soft, sometimes sour flat bread).  And after you've scooped up the last bit of each dish off of your communal plate, you can fight over the large curried-potato-lentil-lamb covered injera that sat under it all.  Mr. Luz always manages to distract me when this time comes, and he always gets the lentil-sauce-drenched section of injera.  It happened again tonight, but make no mistake, I'm already plotting for next time. (And wondering if employing a wardrobe malfunction would be "so 2004")

On the flip side, if you're experienced with Ethiopian food, you'll also love Ethiopic.  We ordered the Lamb Tibs, and the Vegetarian Platter for one (with 4 vegetarian dishes and the spicy lemon tomato salad) with crispy fish.  Everything was cooked to maximize the flavor of the ingredients, meaning it was simmered so the flavors just melded without reducing everything to berbere-flavored mush. And speaking of the berbere (a fragrant and earthy blend of chilies, ginger, cloves, coriander, paprika, and other spices), everything was so fresh that each bite held one hundred flavors at once.  Even their collard greens-a dish done so often that now when it's bad it's still okay-tasted sweet and fresh rather than bitter or bland.

Invariably, Ethiopic will go through growing pains as all new and ultimately successful restaurants do.  But if Ethiopic's food continues to exhibit the same loving care and fresh ingredients that we experienced tonight, I predict that Mr. Luz and I will happily spend a good portion of our summer waiting in a line around the block for a table at our new favorite Ethiopian restaurant.

Syrah-Braised Lamb with Garlic Gremolata

Wow. This post is making me hungry--which is probably due to the fact that I cooked this 2 1/2 weeks ago and am only now posting because I have been in Blogger Exile. (No internet at home, and working through my lunch hour at the office. Blurgh.)

This recipe is perfect if you haven't cooked alot of lamb before--it's braised, so you can achieve that complex flavor and tenderness that you'd expect at a great restaurant fairly easily at home. And if you're not too sure how your famiglia will take to lamb, the gremolata really perks it up and adds a garlicy, acidic balance to an otherwise super-earthy, rich dish, so it's an easy "crowd-pleaser."

While we're trying new things, please pair this with a sundried-tomato risotto, even if you've never made risotto before. While risotto takes some patience/stirring, it's an easy "wine glass in hand" stir that's difficult to botch. I swear, you can make risotto after draining 3 wine glasses, and it'll still be stellar. (I've probably kept some smaller wine producers in CA afloat in these trying economic times, simply due to my risotto-making. Think of the little guy!)

Food and Wine's Syrah-Braised Lamb w/Garlic Gremolata and Sundried-Tomato Risotto:

For the Lamb: (From FoodandWine.com, adjusted to serve 4--original recipe serves 8)

1 Tbs. ground Cumin
1 1/2 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
1 2-3 lb. boneless Lamb Shoulder Roast (tied, if you prefer for presentations' sake)
3/4 bottle Syrah wine
2 cups Chicken Stock
6 sprigs Thyme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the cumin, 1 Tbs. oil, and a generous dash of salt and pepper. Rub the mixture all over the lamb.

Heat the remaining 1/2 Tbs. olive oil in a dutch oven or oven-safe pot over medium high heat. Add the lamb shoulder and brown it well.

Remove the lamb to a large plate, and pour off and discard any excess oil from the dutch oven. Return the lamb to the dutch oven, add the wine, chicken stock, and thyme and bring to a boil over the stove.

Cover and transfer the dish to the oven. Braise the lamb for 1.5 to 2 hours, turning the meat occasionally (don't forget, that cooking dish is HOT) until tender.

Transfer the lamb to a serving platter and tent with foil. Discard the thyme sprigs, and boil the braising liquid until reduced to 2 cups.

Risotto:

Follow the basic recipe on Cookthink.com but add 1 clove minced garlic and 1 1/2 cup sliced baby portabella mushrooms when you saute the onion, and add 1/2 cup sliced sundried tomatoes (packed in the vacuum seal bags, not oil) with the wine. Substitute 1/2 cup feta cheese for the parmesan cheese.

Gremolata:

1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
3 Tbs. grated lemon peel
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 Tbs. finely chopped rosemary or thyme

Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl.

Overall Presentation:

Spoon the risotto onto a plate, top with braised lamb, and serve with a generous portion of gremolata. Enjoy!