Jollof rice is a West African dish made with rice, tomatoes, onions, lots of peppers and lots of spices. Nigerians prepare it differently than Ghanaians, who prepare it differently than Liberians. There are versions from Senegal, Cameroon and Sierra Leone. The debate over which is superior is always passionate and sometimes deadly serious. Each of them is the best and only jollof rice.
An example: A few years ago, around Christmas, my colleague Helene Cooper prepared jollof rice for the Washington bureau of DailyExpertNews. Helene was born in Liberia. She posted a photo of her dish on the social media site then known as Twitter, calling it “the real and righteous Liberian jollof rice. It’s second to none. West African pretenders with your rival nonsense, sit down.”
Helene’s jollof rice won raves in the District that night, but today I want to draw your attention to Yewande Komolafe’s jollof rice (above). (Yewande grew up in Nigeria, so it’s not for Helene.) It’s a delicious recipe, perfect to make on a lazy Sunday afternoon, to serve with fried plantains, stewed goat or just some chicken thighs in salt, pepper and neutral oil . and then roasted until crispy.
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Jollof Rice
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Now that Sunday dinner has been arranged, we can focus on the rest of the week. …
Monday
I love Ali Slagle’s simple recipe for herb-marinated seared tofu, with its bright, spicy sauce. Add chopped celery, maybe avocado, some nuts and seeds? I think I will.
Tuesday
Another winner from Yewande: chicken from the frying pan with peppers and tomatoes. The peppers and some onions melt into a silky sauce, brightened by sherry vinegar and cherry tomatoes, a perfect accompaniment to the bone-in chicken, excellent with rice and, in my home, an oven-warmed baguette.
Wednesday
Weeknight dinners don’t get any better or easier than with Ali’s midnight pasta with roasted garlic, olive oil and chili, a version of pasta aglio e olio. It’s a little more complicated than the original because of the roasted garlic, but it’s not much of a chore if you make it in the toaster in the morning before work while reading The Times. (You should!)
Thursday
Melissa Clark’s recipe for Crispy Chickpea Stew with Greens and Lemon is exceptional, with a hint of salty feta, tender bits of greens and the delicious crunch of the fried chickpeas sprinkled on top. Best of all on Thursday nights, it only takes one pot.
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Now it has nothing to do with smelly cheeses or the sound of onions sizzling in butter, but I wanted to share a few more titles I jotted down over the course of my recent vacation – books worth reading, all small presents.
Here is Siri Hustvedt’s 1996 novel “The Enchantment of Lily Dahl”: passionate, funny and mysterious. Deepti Kapoor’s ‘Age of Vice’, an epic luxury thriller set in contemporary India, was also published this year. I also liked Scot Lehigh’s “Just East of Nowhere,” a dark coming-of-age story set in a struggling coastal town in Maine, also published this year.
Finally, let’s get super freaky with Mordecai Richler’s “St. Urbain’s Horseman”, published in 1971. Travel through time to the strangeness, excess and desires of that decade, with plot and comedy in abundance. Enjoy one or more of these, cook your jollof and I’ll see you next week.