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By Ann Volkwein
The vibrant colors of the fabrics cloaking the women of Senegal echo the warmth and variety of this richly cultured land. It is a land in which foods symbolically weave together generations: Traditional belief is that when a family gathers around the dinner bowl, its ancestors are holding the bowl steady, connecting the generations.
Senegal, which lies in coastal West Africa, is a premier African destination for culinary adventurers. "Senegalese food is interesting because it is where North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa come together," explains Jessica Harris, food historian and author of seven cookbooks including The Africa Cookbook (Simon and Schuster, 1999). "There is cooking that's done with palm oil, which would link it to the more southern countries on the continent," she says, "and there is spit-roasted lamb called Mechoui which would link it with the northern countries like Morocco."
The prevalence of cous cous in Senegalese cuisine also is a North African influence, but it is not the country's most important starch. "Rice is a staple," notes Harris. "You know the Lord's Prayer says 'Give us this day our daily bread'"? In Senegal, she says, the joke is that it would say, "'Give us this day our daily thieb'--which means rice."
Topping the ever-present rice is a tempting variety of grilled meats, stews and stewed root vegetables. Casamance, Senegal's rice-growing region between Gambia and Guinea Bissau, is famous for a savory, piquant stew called Yassa. Yassa begins with chicken, lamb or fish that is marinated in peanut oil and lemon. It is grilled, then stewed, then served over rice with an onion-lemon sauce and a fresh hot chile paste. Other variations incorporate stuffed olives, mustard or carrots.
Senegalese dishes are often highly spiced and flavored with garlic and hot chile. Gna Gna Koty, chef/proprietor of the Senegalese restaurant Chez Gna Gna Koty's in Manhattan, notes that the chile paste is often served on the side "so that the children can eat" and so the diners can make food as hot as they wish. Peanuts, a New World addition to Africa, are one of the main crops in Senegal. They are widely used in the form of peanut oil for marinating and frying and in the dish called Mafé that is found all over West Africa. Senegalese Mafé is chicken, beef or lamb covered in a creamy peanut-tomato sauce and served with seasonal vegetables and rice. Distinctive, earthy-tasting red palm oil colors some of the sauces, while many dishes call for guedge, smoked fish, or yete, smoked mollusks. According to Harris, "A lot of people in Senegal don't like and don't use guedge and yete." So if you can't find these, she says, "you are not necessarily sacrificing the great big capital A that people worry about way too much--authenticity."
Fish is a mainstay of Senegalese cooking, since the majority of the population lives in coastal cities, and Thiebou Dienn--fish with rice--is the national dish. You will often see versions of Thiebou Dienn on lunch menus in Senegal, but to prepare it the classic way takes time and is reserved for special occasions. As Harris describes, the fish is "cut into steaks and has slits cut into it. It's seasoned with parsley and garlic, pushed into the slices." The fish is then grilled and served with rice and vegetables. According to Harris, the rice used in Thiebou Dienn is "very similar in taste and look to the red rice of Charleston and the Low Country (coastal South Carolina and Georgia)." The dish is evidence of the culinary traditions that came to America with people taken from West Africa in the slave trade.
The Senegalese are famous for their teranga, hospitality. A Senegalese host or hostess is sure to direct you through a traditional meal, but follow this general guide to proper etiquette. First, take off your shoes when entering the dining area, and wash your hands before eating. Harris shares what to expect next: "They have wonderful enameled basins--I'm sure traditionally they were calabashes." As the bowl is the traditional connection to ancestors at the meal, never step over or move it during the meal. "They will put a lovely, even a fancy linen or damask tablecloth on the floor--the immaculately clean floor, one might add--and then one sits around the basin and eats with one's hands, right hand only," Harris emphasizes. In the Islamic tradition the left hand is considered unclean. A guest who is having trouble eating this way may be given a spoon, Harris says. You eat from area of the basin that is in front of you--it would be bad manners to wander elsewhere and infringe on the portions of others. Don't worry that your neighbor will get all the good stuff: Harris explains that it is the hostess' job to make sure each person's portion has "tasty bits and tempting morsels."
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