ain’t no party like a party rice … Jollof Rice

 

To my great delight this little experiment of mine, the exploration of some recently disparaged countries, has been very warmly received. Thank you. Through our collective horror and disbelief, there’s an awful lot of us who want to fix things, to learn, to better understand. So it might be a small step, but let’s do that through some food. Today, continuing in the African direction, I’m taking a crack at a West African favorite – Jollof Rice.

Like the last recipe, and many to come, Saveur magazine was my first stop. It’s such a great magazine and especially now, with word this week that they laid off a vast majority of their staff and are cutting back from 6 to 4 issues, they need our support. I fully understand the state of our publishing industry (thank you internet) but this is bullshit. Another great food magazine suffers a crushing blow. I really hope they pull through this. Good food journalism is hard to find.

So anyway, if you weren’t aware, the continent of Africa is comprised of 54 countries. Honest to god, I’m fairly certain a lot of Americans don’t know this. Jollof rice is one of the most common dishes in Western Africa, consumed throughout the regions of Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Togo, Cameroon and Mali though many recipes I saw referenced Nigeria. It is a tomato based rice dish seasoned with onions, peppers and spices often served with fish or meat and vegetables like stewed greens and plantains. I chose it not only because it kept popping up in my searches but because it’s a rice based dish. Rice is the foundation of many cuisines – Asian, Indian and Middle Eastern just to name a few. Thinking about rice-based dishes across the world is pretty mind-boggling – risotto, paella, Persian chelo, jambalaya, sushi, biryiani. The list goes on and on. It makes a lot of sense – rice is cheap, filling and a blank canvas for all kinds of flavors. Many a meal starts with a pot of rice.

This recipe also had a familiarity to it – a tomato based rice much like the Spanish rice I’ve been making forever but more involved, more interesting. And I liked the origin story of the Saveur recipe – “kitchen assistant Yewande Komolafe, a native of Lagos, Nigeria, gave us her family’s recipe for this celebratory rice dish.” Can’t think of anything that would make me happier than to make someone else’s celebratory family dish. Plus I just love saying Yewande Komolafe’s name outloud. The lyrical sound of it and how it rolls off my tongue is just beautiful.

Unfortunately, the first round was a bust. The rice was still crunchy after a 20 minute cook and 10 minute rest. I had conveniently ignored the tip in the recipe header to parboil the rice first to ensure even cooking; dismissing it as unneeded and overly fussy. Wrong. While I like a good tomato-y rice, I felt this version was a bit too heavy on the tomato and overpowered the other, more delicate, flavors. So the next round I took the time to parboil the rice (much better) and cut back on the tomato paste so the other flavors could shine through.

It’s a delicious dish; saucy, substantial and almost creamy in texture. Ten countries can’t be wrong. At first, I thought it was just alright, nothing special, but I couldn’t stop eating it. Tomato forward sure but there’s a subtle heat and deep underlying flavors that are incredibly satisfying, much more interesting and involved than my usual Spanish rice. I roasted some plantains to eat alongside since the oven was on but it would have been great with some roasted chicken or fish. I read that for special occasions, Nigerians will make a version called “party rice” cooked over a wood fire to infuse a smoky flavor and leave a crispy layer on the bottom of the pan. Wow.

I will concede however, that it’s a bit of a project. The recipe is not difficult by any means but there are a lot of steps, ingredients and dirty dishes ahead of you. The rice is parboiled first and strained, the flavor base is made from a bunch of puréed roasted vegetables, additional onions and aromatics are sautéed for a quite a while, and it takes a good 25 minutes for the rice to cook once you get to that point. If you’re organized, a lot of this can be done ahead, which would space out not only the cooking tasks but the dishes piling up in the sink. But dirty pots and time aside, I think the end result is well worth it. More importantly, you can sing Yewande Komolafe’s beautiful name while you’re cooking, just like I did.

STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: WHEW. For a rice dish, this one asks a lot of you. But you give a little here, push a little there, build those flavors slowly with onions and ginger and chile pepper and the next thing you know, you’ve got a helluva nice dish to show off. Even better, you feel a little connection to those African nations who make this dish on the regular and begin to imagine how good it must be cooked on a wood fire stove in the traditional method, the smoke weaving it’s way through the grains and creating a nice little crust on the bottom of the pan. Next time.

other recipes in this series: Morocco/Baghrir (1,000 Hole Crêpes)
nine years ago: Khachpuri (cheesy Georgian bread)
eight years ago: Classic White Sandwich Bread
seven years ago: Molasses Bran Muffins
six years ago: Roasted Banana Sorbet
five years ago: Caramel Corn Rice Krispie Treats
four years ago: Baked Jelly Donuts
three years ago: Rumaki (chicken livers and water chestnuts wrapped in bacon)
two years ago: Whole Wheat Fig Bars
last year: Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

JOLLOF RICE – slightly adapted from this recipe
serves at least 8 – the recipe makes a lot, meant to share with a large festive group but it can be easily halved for a smaller serving. Madras curry powder tends to run a bit hotter than a standard curry powder. You can certainly use any curry powder you like, however, if so motivated to make your own, find a good recipe here.

2 cups long-grain rice
3 plum tomatoes, cored
4 garlic cloves (peeled & roughly chopped) + 1 garlic clove (peeled & minced)
2 medium red onions + ½ red onion thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper
1 habanero chile (or scotch bonnet)
1 cup water
¼ cup vegetable oil
4 ½ teaspoons hot curry powder, such as madras
2 Tablespoons finely minced fresh ginger
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
¼ cup tomato paste
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley, for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a sheet pan with foil.
2. Parboil the rice: Meanwhile bring a large pot of water to a boil.
3. Place the rice in a strainer and rinse well.
4. Add to the boiling water, cook for 5 minutes then drain. Par-cooking the rice ensures it will be nicely cooked through rather than crunchy and underdone.
5. Make the vegetable purée: Halve the 2 onions, then cut each half in thirds trying to keep the root end intact on each piece (it makes flipping much easier). Place on the sheet pan with the whole tomatoes, bell pepper and habanero.
6. Drizzle with a little vegetable oil – 1-2 Tablespoons – and toss to fully coat.
7. Roast for 30 minutes, flip, then continue roasting for another 15-30 minutes until the vegetables are blistered and slightly blackened. The habanero will likely be ready after 30 minutes but keep an eye on the rest during the last 30 minutes as some may roast faster than others. Remove as needed.
8. Once the habanero is cool enough to handle, remove and discard the stem and seeds.
9. Place the roasted bell pepper in a bowl covered with plastic wrap to steam and cool.
10. Once the bell pepper is cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin, stem and seeds.
11. Put all the roasted vegetables in a blender with the 4 chopped garlic cloves and water.
12. Puree until smooth. Set aside until needed.
13. Start the rice: Heat oil in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat.
14. Add the remaining sliced onions along with the ginger, curry powder, and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to soften and brown, about 8 minutes or so.
15. Add the minced garlic clove and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
16. Add the tomato paste, stir vigorously to combine, then stir in the reserved purée mixture.
17. Cook, still on medium-high, stirring frequently to allow the flavors to meld, about 5 minutes. Be careful – it spatters.
18. Add the parboiled rice and stir to combine.
19. Add chicken (or vegetable) stock, salt and pepper, stirring to combine.
20. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low, and cook, covered, until rice is tender, 15 minutes.
21. Remove the pot from heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes.
22. Uncover, fluff rice with a fork, and serve garnished with chopped parsley alongside grilled meats or fish, stewed greens and roasted plantains.