Recipe - Jollof Rice (West African Paella)

Bonnie Bracey GRWP92A
1 Chicken; (or more)
6 Medium onions; chopped
6 Green bell peppers; chopped
One half pound Shrimp; (more or less)
Three fourths cup Carrots; chopped
Three fourths cup Stringbeans; broken into
pieces
Three fourths cup Peas
6 Tomatoes; chopped
1 teaspoon Salt
One half teaspoon Fresh ground pepper
1 Sprig of thyme; crushed, or
one tsp of dried thyme
4 cup Rice; (more or less)
One fourth cup Tomato paste; (or more)
Oil; for frying
1 One half teaspoon Cayenne pepper

You can put in as many kinds of meat or vegetables as you like or can
afford into this dish. Shrimp makes an extravagant but wonderful addition.
Use a heavy pot or a large cast iron skillet to discourage burning.
Stirring often is the key to successwith this dish. Use a large wooden
spoon. Cover the pot tightly.

Skin, debone and chop the chicken into 1 inch square pieces. In a heavey
pot, large enough to hold everything, brown the chicken in oil. Add onions
and peppers. Cook over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a separate skillet, saute the shrimp in a small amount of oil
and precook the carrots, beans, and peas (or other vegetables of your
choice) until they are about half done ( 5 minutes or so). Drain the
vegetables and add to the chicken pot along with the shrimp, tomatoes,
salt, pepper and thyme. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.

Combine rice with tomato paste, which should coat the rice grains without
drowning them. (In the finished dish, the rice should be tinted orange, too
much tomato paste will make it red.) Stir the coated rice to the pot and
continue to simmer, adding water sparingly, as needed, to avoid burning.
When the meat, rice and vegetables are tender, the Jollof Rice is ready to
serve.
Posted to EATL Digest 25 Aug 96

Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 17:24:07 0500

From: LD Goss ldgoss@METRONET.COM