Story

From My Mother’s Garden to My Kitchen

Recipe for Ethiopian Gomen and Freekeh

November 3, 2026

Tigist Nave, known as Chef Tigi, is an Ethiopian-Israeli private chef based in New York City and the founder of Green Garlic.

Born in Ethiopia, she immigrated to Israel at the age of 12. Her cooking reflects the cultures, flavors, and traditions that have shaped her journey, from her Ethiopian Jewish heritage to her life in Israel and New York.

For Tigi, food is more than a meal. It is a connection to family, identity, and the memories and traditions we carry with us.

Tigi shares with us a story of gomen, memory, and idenity, along with reflections on the holiday of Sigd and a recipe for Ethiopian Gomen and Freekeh with fresh herbs. Enjoy!

My mother was a farmer. She grew a wide variety of vegetables, worked the land, and sold some of her produce to our neighbors. As a child, I worked alongside her, preparing the soil, pulling weeds, watering, and tending to the crops.

Of everything she grew, gomen is what I remember most vividly.

Gomen, a leafy green commonly used in Ethiopian cooking, is traditionally prepared with onions, garlic, and peppers. It is a simple dish, but for me, it represents something much deeper: my earliest understanding of ingredients, the land, and the work behind the food we eat.

As I developed my career as a chef, working in the kitchens of some of Israel’s leading chefs, I continued to return to the ingredients I grew up with.

I began exploring new ways to use the leafy greens I knew from childhood, incorporating them into stuffed dishes and contemporary Israeli cuisine. My mother also grew Swiss chard, which I continue to use in my cooking today. One example is a dish of stuffed Swiss chard leaves that I recently prepared for a private event in Aspen, Colorado.

For me, cooking is about respecting where ingredients come from while allowing traditions to evolve.

This connection feels especially meaningful during Sigd, the Ethiopian Jewish holiday centered on faith, the renewal of the covenant, community, and the generations-long longing for Jerusalem.

Sigd reminds us that preserving tradition does not mean standing still. It means carrying our history and values into the lives we build today.

As an Ethiopian-Israeli chef living and cooking in New York, I see that continuity in my own kitchen. My food reflects the places I have lived, the kitchens I have worked in, and the ingredients that shaped me long before I became a chef.

Gomen began for me in my mother’s garden. Today, it remains part of my culinary language through Green Garlic.

The ingredient has traveled with me. Its roots remain the same.

Recipe for Ethiopian Gomen with Freekeh and Fresh Herbs

by Chef Tigi

Vegan | Serves 4 | Makes approximately 8 rolls

Gomen is a traditional Ethiopian dish made with leafy greens. For this recipe, I use the leaves to make stuffed rolls with freekeh, golden onions, fresh herbs and warm spices. It’s a simple combination inspired by both Ethiopian and Middle Eastern cooking.

Ingredients

Gomen

8 large collard green leaves (gomen)
Water for blanching
A bowl of ice water

Freekeh filling

1 cup freekeh
1½ cups water
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
¼ cup fresh mint, finely chopped
1 green chili, finely chopped
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Atlantic sea salt, to taste

For the final cooking

Water, as needed
Olive oil, for drizzling

Cooking Instructions

1. Cook the freekeh

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté until golden.
Add the freekeh and a small pinch of Atlantic sea salt. Stir to combine, then pour in 1½ cups of water.
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for approximately 20 minutes, until the freekeh is tender. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

2. Prepare the gomen leaves

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Carefully add the collard green leaves and blanch for 6 minutes, until softened and flexible.
Immediately transfer the leaves to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process and preserve their green color.
Drain well and pat dry. Trim the thick center stems if necessary to make rolling easier.

3. Make the filling

In a large bowl, combine the cooked freekeh and golden onions with the chopped parsley, mint, green chili, cardamom, allspice and black pepper.
Mix everything together and adjust the salt to taste.

4. Stuff the gomen

Lay each leaf flat on a clean work surface.
Place a spoonful of the freekeh mixture near the base of the leaf. Fold in the sides and roll firmly, similar to stuffed grape leaves.
Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.

5. Cook the stuffed gomen

Arrange the stuffed leaves snugly in a pot, seam side down.
Add a little water to the pot and drizzle olive oil over the rolls.
Start over high heat. Once the water comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer gently for 25–30 minutes.

6. Serve