Spiced Teff Cakes with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

With my latest forays into Ethiopian cooking, I've emerge as involved again in revisiting teff for the first time in lots of years.

Teff has been the staple grain of Ethiopian cooking for thousands of years but is relatively unknown to the rest of the world except through the sourdoughed teff flour flat bread called "injera" that is served in every Ethiopian restaurant. But it is available in larger grocers and in health food stores from brands such as Bob's Red Mill. And its obscurity certainly doesn't hide its unique qualities. So very tiny that its name actually translates as "lost", it has a rich brown color and a much more robust earthy and nutty flavor than any other grain. And it's a nutritional gluten-free powerhouse of protein, calcium, iron and fiber.

Teff has a thick, chewy and gritty polenta-like consistency while cooked up and makes for a exclusive ? And wholesome ? Breakfast porridge. But on the dinner table, its strong flavor makes it less a platform for seasonings and vegetables than other grains and greater of the starring flavor. So teff is a really perfect vehicle for making savory desserts like the sort I like a lot. Combined with Ethiopian spices, chilies, sun-dried tomatoes and a uncooked cashew paste, this thick cooked grain molds into burger-size patties that can be baked or fried for a bold tasting side dish that could just flip out as a substitute to hog the spotlight on your dinner desk.

Other patties and burgers to experience from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:

Potato Patties Stuffed with Spiced Green Peas (Aloo Matar Tikki)

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Patties with Avocado and Tomato Salsa

Chickpea Patties Smothered in Vegetable Gravy

Nigerian Black-Eyed Pea Patties with Pilipili Sauce

On the top of the studying stack: The Chickpea Flour Cookbook: Healthy Gluten-Free and Grain-Free Recipes to Power Every Meal of the Day