🇹 Ethiopian · Lentils, Beans & Vegetarian
🥬 Ethiopian Collard Greens
ጎመን — Gomen
Ethiopian Gomen — collard greens stripped from their stems, roughly chopped, and cooked with onion, garlic, ginger, and green jalapeños. The essential green accompaniment to Doro Wat, Kitfo, and the fasting platter — its slight bitterness balances the richness of the wats.
Gomen is as essential to the Ethiopian table as injera itself — the collard greens that appear alongside every celebration platter and every fasting spread, their slight bitterness cutting through the richness of berbere-spiced wats and the fattiness of kibbeh. Eaten alongside kitfo, they are indispensable.
Ingredients
Equipment: Large wide pan
- 500g collard greens (or kale) — stems removed, roughly chopped
- 2 onions — diced
- 4 garlic cloves — sliced
- 2 tbsp ginger — sliced
- 2 green jalapeños — sliced
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp salt
Fasting: use oil. Non-fasting: use kibbeh (ETH092)
Method
- Blanch chopped collard greens in boiling water 3 minutes. Drain.
- Heat oil in a wide pan.
- Cook onion until golden — 7 minutes.
- Add garlic, ginger, and jalapeño. Cook 2 minutes.
- Add blanched greens. Toss to coat.
- Cook 8—10 minutes, stirring, until greens are fully wilted and fragrant.
- Season.
Chef Tips
- Blanching before the main cooking removes excess bitterness and reduces cooking time.
- Strip the stems completely — they are too fibrous.
- On non-fasting days, substitute kibbeh for oil — transformative.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Not blanching — raw gomen takes too long and stays bitter.
- Leaving stems in — too tough.
The Science
Collard greens contain glucosinolates (compounds with powerful anti-cancer properties) and oxalic acid (which reduces mineral absorption). Blanching partially reduces the oxalic acid while retaining most of the glucosinolates. The brief subsequent sauté concentrates the flavour without destroying the nutritional compounds significantly.
Nutrition (per serving)
Health Benefits
- Very high in vitamins K, A, and C.
- Glucosinolates — anti-cancer compounds.
- High calcium — important during fasting when dairy is prohibited.
- Very high fibre.
Cultural Note
Gomen is the green soul of Ethiopian cooking — its presence alongside Doro Wat and kitfo is as essential as the injera itself. The slight bitterness of collard greens is the Ethiopian palate's preferred green note, and a mesob platter without gomen is considered incomplete.
Storage & Serving
Storage: Refrigerate 3 days.
Reheating: Briefly in pan.
Serve with: With Doro Wat (ETH061) and Kitfo (ETH029) — essential companions, On every fasting platter, With Kik Alicha (ETH103)