Ghanaian Jollof Rice
Ghanaian Jollof Rice is a delicious rice dish flavoured with tomatoes, ginger, garlic and select flavour agents making this a phenomenal and nutritious meal to have for lunch or dinner and total crowd pleaser. It is an excellent meal choice to prepare for the week since it can easily pass for a one-pot dish.
Ingredients:
for the fish:
1 whole 795g fresh red snapper fish
85ml fresh lime juice
18g, 4 garlic cloves
½ tbsp slightly coarse Himalayan salt
½ tbsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp dijon mustard grain
1 whole 6g habanero pepper
30g fresh cilantro
for cooking the grains:
4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil + extra
155g, 1 large onion, peel and roughly cut
23g, 5 garlic cloves, peeled
17g fresh ginger root, peeled
1 1hole 10g habanero pepper
1 tbsp, 10g curry powder
1 tbsp coarse Himalayan salt
½ tbsp ground black pepper
3g fresh thyme sprigs
2 dry bay leaves
215g tomato paste
500g canned whole plum tomatoes
1.13l fresh water
850g jasmine rice
200g white quinoa
Directions:
Clean the fish thoroughly by removing the scales and the gut.
Rinse it and let it drain to remove excess water or tap dry and cut the fish into 4 to 5 pieces using a sharp kitchen knife.
Score the pieces of fish by making a deep incision on the surface of each piece to allow the seasoning to properly penetrate the fresh for maximum and thorough flavour.
Season the fish with the lime juice, toss well and set them aside or keep chilled in the fridge.
Make the seasoning for the fish by combining the Himalayan salt, ground black pepper, dijon mustard grain, habanero pepper and fresh cilantro in a mortar and pestle or food processor and grind until very well combined. It does not need to be a smooth texture.
Insert tiny scoops of this seasonings into the incisions on the pieces of fish as well as in the cavity and head of the fish until everything is well coated with the marinade.
Store the seasoned fish in the fridge for about 3 hours or overnight to allow the fish to be well seasoned.
On the next day, preheat the oven to 400˚F, brush a cast iron skillet with some olive oil and place the seasoned fish into it and set aside until it is time to bake it in the oven for 15 minutes, making sure to flip it halfway through cooking time so it cooks on the other side.
Meanwhile, add the roughly cut onion, garlic, ginger, garlic, habanero pepper and 250ml of fresh water to a blender and blitz the combination on high speed until well pulverized and set aside.
Turn on the larger burner on the stove to high heat and add in the olive oil then the pulverized goods and stir every now and again to prevent burning.
After 3 minutes, add in the tomato paste, curry powder, fresh thyme sprigs and dry bay leaves, stir well and let the combination bubble up for 7 minutes to deepen the flavours.
After the fish is done baking, save the juices in a container then broil the pieces of fish on high heat for about 5 to 7 minutes on each side depending on your oven. Since the fish was not fried, this cooking method will give the fish a good charring/grilled effect. Once done, set aside.
Season with Himalayan salt and ground black pepper then add in plum tomatoes. Rinse the blender and the bowl containing the plum tomatoes and add to the pot. Add in the juices from the baked fish, then stir the contents of the pot well, cover with its lid and allow to simmer for 15 minutes on medium to high heat.
Add the broil fish to the simmering tomato stock to absorb the mingling flavours in the pot for five minutes. Feel free to add in a few vegetables like okra, habanero, carrots, cabbage and/or aubergine. Then remove them all, set aside and taste the stock to adjust any seasonings. Adding in the vegetables at this point makes this Jollof Rice similar to Benachin for The Gambia or Theip Bou Dienne for Senegal.
Combine the quinoa and the rice and wash well with fresh water until the water runs clear. Adding in the quinoa is a personal preference to boost up the protein content for the dish. Feel free to omit it and replace with rice then adjust the water content to ensure that the grains don’t get mushy.
Add the washed grains to the simmering stock, stir well , cover the pot and let the grains cook on low heat until the grains are cooked through and fluffy. This can take up to 35 minutes depending on the size of your pot. During the cooking process, use a wooden spoon to turn the grains once to twice maximum so the grains don’t get mushy. Once the grains are cooked, serve hot with a piece of fish and vegetables (if they were added) and some ranha (a bissap and okra dip).
Enjoy this meal to your heart’s desire.
