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AI-generated photograph: Thieboudienne on a wide shallow white platter: tomato red rice topped with a herb stuffed fish steak, glossy carrot, cabbage, aubergine and okra, and a lime wedge

Home · Recipes · Senegalese thieboudienne, fish and rice

West African · Dinner

Senegalese thieboudienne, fish and rice

herb stuffed fish · tomato broth rice · market vegetables

AI-generated photograph

Senegal's national dish: white fish stuffed with a parsley, garlic and chilli paste, cooked in a rich tomato broth with whole vegetables, then the broth cooks the rice so every grain is full of flavour.

Contains: fish, as written. Fish is the only one of the 14 allergens in this recipe, from the white fish and the fish stock cube. Check the stock cube packet, as some contain celery.

Ingredients

  • 30g fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves and thin stalks
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • Half a scotch bonnet chilli, seeds out
  • 3 spring onions, roughly chopped
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons salt, then more to taste
  • 4 thick white fish steaks or fillets, such as hake, cod or sea bass (about 600g)
  • 100ml vegetable oil
  • 2 medium onions, finely chopped
  • 70g tomato purée (about 4 tablespoons)
  • 1.2 litres fish stock (1 fish stock cube in 1.2 litres hot water)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 carrots, peeled and halved
  • 1 small aubergine, quartered
  • 1 medium sweet potato (about 300g), peeled and cut into 4
  • A quarter of a white cabbage (about 250g), in one wedge
  • 100g okra (about 8), stalks trimmed
  • 1 tablespoon tamarind paste (optional, for a gentle sourness)
  • 400g broken rice (sold in African and Asian shops) or jasmine rice
  • To serve: 1 lime, cut into wedges

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Let's cook

  1. Make the rof, the green stuffing. Blend or finely chop the parsley, garlic, scotch bonnet and spring onions with the black pepper and 1 teaspoon of the salt to a rough green paste.
  2. Cut 2 deep slits in each piece of fish and press a little paste into each. Rub a little more over the outside and keep the rest of the paste. Put the fish on a plate in the fridge.
  3. Heat the oil in a large wide pot on a medium heat. Fry the onions for 10 minutes until soft and golden. Add the tomato purée and the rest of the green paste and fry for 5 minutes, stirring, until it darkens to brick red.
  4. Pour in the stock, add the bay leaves and the other teaspoon of salt, and bring to the boil. Add the carrots, aubergine, sweet potato and cabbage. Simmer, partly covered, for 15 minutes.
  5. Lower in the fish and okra, and stir in the tamarind if using. Simmer gently for 12 to 15 minutes, until the fish is white all the way through and flakes, and the vegetables are tender.
  6. Lift the fish and vegetables onto a dish with a slotted spoon, cover with foil and keep warm in a low oven, 120C (100C fan).
  7. Wash the rice until the water runs almost clear. Measure the broth left in the pot: you need about 800ml, so add water or spoon some off. Bring it to the boil, stir in the rice, cover with foil and the lid, and cook on the lowest heat for 20 to 25 minutes until tender. Do not stir; the bottom will toast into a crust, which in Senegal is the best part.
  8. Spread the rice on a large platter and arrange the fish and vegetables on top. Serve with lime wedges and scrape up the crust to share.

Tips

  • Broken rice is the traditional choice and soaks up the broth beautifully.
  • Keep the broth at a gentle simmer once the fish is in, so it stays in whole pieces.
  • Cool leftover rice quickly and eat it within a day, reheated until steaming hot.

Swaps

  • Cheaper: use frozen white fish fillets, thawed in the fridge, and cook them for 8 minutes only.
  • No tamarind: squeeze in the juice of half a lime at the end.

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