Genfo — Barley Porridge with a Berbere Butter Well

Ingredients

• 1½ cups barley flour, or fine whole wheat flour
• 2½ cups water
• ¾ tsp salt
• 4 tbsp niter kibbeh or butter
• 1½ tbsp berbere
• ½ cup plain yogurt, for serving
• 1 tsp honey, optional

Method

1. Toast the barley flour in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it smells nutty and darkens a shade, 4–5 minutes. Skip this and the porridge tastes raw and pasty.
2. Bring the water and salt to a boil, then add the flour all at once and immediately start beating hard with a sturdy wooden spoon.
3. Keep beating over low heat 10–12 minutes as it thickens dramatically. It's ready when the mass pulls cleanly away from the sides of the pot and holds a shape — this is genuine arm work.
4. Wet a bowl, pack the genfo into it, and turn it out onto a plate as a smooth dome. Press a deep well into the center with the back of a wet spoon.
5. Melt the niter kibbeh with the berbere until it turns brick red and fills the well like a small volcano. Serve with yogurt around the edge and a drizzle of honey if you like a sweet-hot morning.