make.eat.share.
Africa calling
This vast continent is home to a huge variety of cuisines, ingredients and dishes that sing with flavour and colour on the plate. Lerato Umah-Shaylor shares four recipes from her outstanding new book that will wake up your taste buds
FOOD STYLING ESTHER CLARK STYLING TABITHA HAWKINS
PHOTOGRAPHS TARA FISHER
Smoky jollof
Smoky jollof
Serves 4-6 Hands-on time 15 min Simmering time 1 hour 20 min
LERATO’S TIPS
Smoked paprika is a cheat to add the smoky flavour to the jollof rice that’s typically achieved in West Africa through cooking on firewood or coals. I also love adding vegetables to jollof – raid your fridge for leftovers.
Jollof rice is best cooked low and slow for perfectly plumped grains. Check it at intervals – if the sauce dries out and the rice is still not cooked, add a little more water or stock around the edges, gently pushing the grains towards the centre without stirring. A burnt bottom is perfectly acceptable and even encouraged, as it infuses the grains with more smoky flavours.
• 300g long grain or basmati rice, thoroughly rinsed
• 250-400ml vegetable or chicken stock
• 2 tsp fine sea salt
• 2 plantains, peeled, sliced and fried, to serve (optional)
For the purée
• 6 medium vine tomatoes or a 400g tin plum tomatoes
• 2-3 romano or red peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1-2 red or yellow scotch bonnet chillies, stalks removed, roughly chopped (wear gloves) – or pierced and left whole (for a slightly milder heat)
For the jollof base
• 90ml coconut, rapeseed or vegetable oil
• 1 small red onion, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 4-6 thyme sprigs, some leaves picked and kept for garnish
1 Put all the purée ingredients (except the scotch bonnets if using whole) in a food processor and whizz to a thick purée.
2 Put the oil for the jollof base in a large, wide saucepan that has a tightly fitting lid, then set over a medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring often, until softened and golden. If it starts to get dry, add a splash of water to keep the onion from burning.