Ambo Burger
March 2025
Our flavor-packed collab with Ambo Ethiopian Cuisine is BACK!!
Similar to how Mulu from Ambo describes Ethiopian meals, this collab is about more than just delicious food - it’s a celebration of connection and friendship. We met Mulu way back in the early 2000s when her family moved into Bellingham Cohousing. Part of that experience is sharing meals, and did we ever share meals!
That deliciousness eventually led to Mulu operating a very successful stand at the Bellingham Farmers Market. She’d come in late and cook in our Fiamma kitchen, so we always woke up to the amazing aromas.
For the last several years Ambo has been up and running on State Street and you can enjoy some injera and doro wat any day of the week. But this month those flavors are being featured in our kitchen too!
Ambo Burger - Niter Kibbeh beef patties grilled with onions and spiced with berbere and koreima. Stacked up with crispy fried onions and a nigella and nech azmud seasoned cabbage, fennel + kale slaw on buttery buns smeared with a Q’och Q’ocha fresh cheese spread.
Ethiopian cuisine features ingredients that can be uncommon in America and we had the opportunity to use some in our collab with Ambo. From spices to sauces, here’s the flavors featured in our Ambo specials.
Berbere - a spice mix made from a variety of dried and ground peppers that are mixed with other spices like garlic and ginger. Traditionally, berbere is spicy hot.
Korerima is A spice also known as black cardamom. While related to the more common green cardamom, it has a quite different taste. Used primarily in savory dishes for its smoky, astringent and herbal flavor profile.
Nech Azmud is A spice also known as Ethiopian caraway or Ethiopian bishop’s weed. It has a pungent flavor similar to anise with notes of thyme, as it contains the same chemical that gives thyme its distinctive flavor.
Nigella - a mildly nutty and aromatic seed sometimes referred to by other names such as black cumin and black caraway, despite having no relation to either spice. It is a commonly used seasoning in many regions including India, Poland, the Middle East, and of course, Ethiopia.
Niter Kibbeh is a seasoned clarified butter essential to many Ethiopian recipes. It is typically clarified in a process that lasts several days to allow the full flavors of the herbs and spices to develop.
Q’och Q’ocha is a traditional sauce prepared in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. The name in the Afan Oromo language and means “spicy, pounded and moistened green pepper”. Jalapenos are pulverized and mixed with herbs and spices to make this spicy and refreshing relish
