The Recipes Of Senegal |
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Senegal is a country that I, personally know well. It's a country of many parts being almost desert in the North, tropical rainforest in the East and with an extensive Atlantic coast on the West. It also totally encompasses the tiny country of The Gambia. Senegal was the capital of French West Africa for over a century and the country has a strong French flavour even today (French, along with native Wolof being the official languages) it is also politically stable and though poor in global terms it has a growing economy. The cuisine of Senegal shows the influences of the French as well as having desert and rainforest influences as well. Fish is plentiful in the diet though just about any meat can be found (even pork, despite it's being predominantly a Moslem country). Here I present two classic, but very different Senegalese dishes for you: L'Assiette des Assiettes (The Dish of Dishes) Ingredients 3 tbsp cooked black-eyed peas 10cm square of cooked fish fillet 2 tomato slices 3 cucumber slices 2 pieces heart of palm 1/2 hard-boiled egg 1 bottle tomato catsup 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 120ml white wine vinegar 3 tbsp sugar 100g onion, very finely chopped Method: Prepare the dressing by combining the tomato catsup, Worcestershire sauce, white wine vinegar, sugar and onion. Allow to chill in the fridge. For each plate, arrange as follows: make a bed of lettuce and arrange the black eyed peas in the centre of the plate. Place the cooked fish on the black eyed peas and surround with overlapping tomato slices, cucumber slices, heart of palm and the hard-boiled egg. Add enough dressing so that the fish is completely hidden by it. Senegalese Lemon Soup Ingredients 1 tbsp butter 1 tsp South African Curry Powder 2 tsp flour 500ml chicken stock 240ml yoghurt (typical Senegalese yoghurt is thick and sweetened but I prefer natural yoghurt. Add 1 tsp honey for a more authentic taste). Juice of 12 lemon dash of paprika 3 tbsp fresh chives, chopped Method: Melt the butter in a pan then add the curry powder and flour. Allow to cook-in for a little over a minute, stirring continually. Add the chicken stock a little at a time. Blend thoroughly and bring to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat and gradually stir-in the yoghurt a little at a time (this prevents curdling). Finish by adding the lemon juice. The soup can be served either warm or cold and should be served in soup bowls, garnished with chives and paprika. For a richer soup, add some cooked, shredded, chicken to the broth. I hope that you enjoyed these recipes and are now willing to find out more about Senegalese and West African cookery.
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