Jollof Rice
Jollof, or jollof rice, is a typical West Africa dish made with long-grain rice, tomatoes, chilis, onions, spices. although you can add meat for a single pot dish this is a veggie version. which can be serve as a main or as an accompaniment to other dishes
It pairs brilliantly with a fruity Bordeaux red, a perfect foil for the spices.
Prep: 20 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients
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3 small-medium onions
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4 large cloves of garlic, peeled
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4cm ginger roughly chopped
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2 large spring onions cut into rounds (optional but brings colour)
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1 scotch bonnet pepper for spice or more according to taste left whole
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2 red peppers, deseeded & roughly chopped
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2 small cups of water
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Vegetable oil but not olive oil
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2 tsp dried or fresh thyme
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1 tbsp salt
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500g long grain or basmati rice, washed
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Half a nutmeg, grated or 2tsp powdered nutmeg
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1tsp Colombo spice – a dried mixed blend of turmeric, curry and ginger
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1-2 ripe plantains
Method
1. Start with the sauce for the rice. Put the peppers, 2 onions, garlic & ginger into the blender, add the water to get the mixture moving.
2. Fry the remaining onion, garlic in vegetable oil, add the whole scotch bonnet pepper and salt then add the spring onions and continue frying
3. Poor in the red blended sauce, add the thyme, cover, reduce the heat and leave to simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes so that it naturally boils down and concentrates.
4. Add another 100ml vegetable oil for the rice, remove the scotch bonnet pepper and stir in the washed rice and mix well with the sauce.
5. Add the nutmeg and colombo premixed spice mix or add dried turmeric, curry and ginger plus season with salt to taste.
6. Put into the rice cooker. Alternatively add 4 cups of water to the same pan and cook as normal ie double quantity of water to rice.
NOTE: For those who like it hot – mash down the cooked scotch bonnet pepper and use as a sauce.
7.If not cooking on an open fire, spread the rice into a shallow dish and then put back in the oven until the bottom is slightly crispy.
Slice the plantains and deep fry until golden. Drain onto kitchen paper.
When the rice comes out of the oven (if you do this step), you can layer it with fresh tomatoes or eat as is, with the deep fried plantains.
Suggested Wine Pairing
We served it with Prince from Château George 7 but any fresh and fruit driven red with silky or rounded tannins would work well with the spicy notes.