Travel to West Africa with Thiebou Diene Recipe

Senegal's Iconic Fish and Rice Meal is Easy to Cook and Delicious

Mar 11, 2009

Few places elicit as much excitement in the traveling cook then the continent of Africa. From the westernmost point of that continent comes this traditional fish dish.

For foodies, culinary travel is an opportunity to open one’s eyes to new recipes dependent on exotic flavors, tantalizingly unfamiliar aromas and refreshingly alien preparations. Perhaps no place excites the cook’s senses more than Africa, where the possibilities for traditional and fusion recipes are nearly limitless.

West African Cuisine

A trip to West Africa reveals a blend of many different cultures in life lived and food cooked. The westernmost point of land on the continent is Cap-Vert, and it is from here that one of West Africa’s most celebrated meals originated—thiebou diene.

Thiebou Diene

Pronounced “cheb-oo-JEN”, which translates roughly as rice and fish, thiebou diene is a combination of root vegetables, stuffed fish and broken rice. This hearty meal has as many variations as India has curries. The variation presented here is based on ingredients that are relatively easy to find at most major supermarkets. The ingredients for this recipe are as follows:

Stuffing the Fish with Roof

The chef first makes the stuffing (called “roof”). To create the roof, combine one finely chopped sweet bell pepper, one hot chili pepper (seeds removed), two chopped leeks, one chopped yellow onion, and some minced garlic in a bowl. Add fresh cilantro, one tablespoon cracked peppercorns and about a cup of red palm oil (easier to find than you may think). Mash the ingredients into a paste or use a food processor to blend.

While this meal can be made with a whole cleaned fish, which makes for a bold presentation, most chefs will choose to use steaks from a firm fleshed fish such as bluefish, halibut, shark, tuna, or swordfish. Beginning with thick steaks and a sharp knife, the chef cuts slits into each steak and then stuffs the roof into the slits.

Quickly Fry the Stuffed Fish

After stuffing the fish, the chef heats palm oil in a large pot until it begins to faintly smoke and then adds the stuffed fish. Fry the fish for about two to three minutes and then remove to a plate. Pour off all but a tablespoon or two of the oil, and then add three cups of water and two tablespoons of tomato paste. Prick one habanera pepper several times with a fork and add it to the vegetables. Adding a piece of dried, salted, or smoked fish at this point heightens the flavor significantly. Bring the liquid to a boil.

Cook the Root and Leaf Vegetables

Add one peeled and cubed green pumpkin (calabaza) or butternut squash to the liquid and simmer for 20 minutes. Add a medium-sized peeled and cubed cassava tuber (or two potatoes) and a peeled and cubed yam to the pot and continue cooking for ten minutes. Add two chopped carrots, and simmer for ten to twelve minutes stirring occasionally before adding a small cabbage that has been cored and roughly chopped. Cook for another eight minutes and then remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon to a bowl and keep warm. Leave the piece of dried fish (if used) and the habanera pepper in the liquid.

Poach the Fried, Stuffed Fish

Add the fried fish to the liquid in which the vegetables were cooked and poach for three to five minutes until it is cooked. Remove the fish (leaving the dried fish and the habanera pepper) to the same bowl as the vegetables.

Cook the Rice and Serve

Adjust the liquid in the pot so that you have about four cups of liquid, and then add two cups short-grained rice to the pot. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Immediately remove rice to a serving platter. Scrape the crusty bits from the bottom of the pot (this is called xooñ) and pour over rice. Arrange the cooked vegetables and fish on top of the rice and serve at once.

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