And yet Senegalese cuisine has produced, out of this widely varied mixture of culinary traditions, its own uniquely original dishes – many of which have become immensely popular and mainstays throughout all of Western Africa.
French bread, couscous, and rice are the most prevalent starch staples, and dishes like Mafé, a peanut stew with different meats in it, Yassa, a marinated chicken dish, seasoned with lemon juice and onions, and the amazingly popular and versatile Ceebu.
Ceebu is a tomato based stew with rice meal, and can feature fish, “Ceebu Jen”, or red meats “Ceebu Yapp” as the protein. The Mafe peanut stew dish shows up in various forms all over West African countries, often called Peanut Stew or Groundnut Soup or Stew.
Needless to say, Senegalese Cuisine is a major influence on West African cuisine in general.
Here you will find simple, step by step recipes, with pictures and resources to help you prepare true, authentic, traditional …
Senegalese Cuisine!
Please note: For your convenience, you can click on the recipes listed directly below and be taken directly to a page with just that one recipe on it, in printer-friendly format. You are certainly welcomed to read through this whole page, all the recipes are here as well, and there are some videos and pertinent information on background, history, customs, special notes, etc., so it is well worth the read.
Here is the list, in alphabetical order:
Boulettes de Poisson (Deep Fried Fish Balls with Tomato Sauce)
Ceebu Jen (Senegalese Fish with Rice and Vegetables)
Ceebu Yap (Senegalese Meat with Rice and Vegetables)
Mafe (Meat in Ground Peanuts Stew)
Poulet Yassa (Slow cooked spicy chicken and onions with yellow rice)
This first example of authentic traditional Senegalese cuisine is certainly among the most influential dishes that originated in the country. It appears in many different versions in a large number of West African countries, with slightly different names, and with several variations on ingredients.
But essential to all the versions of this dish is peanut butter. Certainly, with Senegal being the peanut capital of the world, producing more of the yummy little legumes than anywhere else on the planet, it makes sense that they would incorporate them into many of their meals, main entrees included.
When I first visited my wife’s homeland, Ghana, she made me some of what the Ghanian’s call “Groundnut Stew” and I’ll never forget the unique and incredible flavor of a stew with peanut butter in its base.
So enjoy this meal, Senegalese cuisine at its finest, with their unique and original version of …
Mafé
(Senegalese Meat in Ground Peanuts Stew)
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 2 lb. lean stewing beef, cut into bite-sized cubes (Beef Eye Round Roast is a good choice for this dish)
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped fine
- 6 to 8 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp. freshly ground ginger root
- 1 Scotch Bonnet chili pepper, seeded and minced (no substitutes, please, for the true ethnic experience)
- 2 tbsp. tomato paste
- 2 cups peeled, seeded and rough chopped tomatoes
- 1 to 2 cups beef, chicken, or vegetable broth
- 1 cup all natural, unsalted, creamy peanut butter (Note: almost all prepared peanut butter has some salt in it. Just use peanut butter with 1% or less salt, and you will be fine)
- Freshly ground coarse sea salt and black peppercorns
- Optional: chopped vegetables of your choice, such as eggplant, yam, okra, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, squash, etc.
Directions:
- In a large cooking pot over medium-high heat, heat up the oil.
- Add in the cubed beef and sauté, stirring, until lightly browned on all sides. About 5 or 6 minutes should do the trick, then remove from pot and set aside in bowl.
- Now add the onion into the oil, and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, or until fragrant and translucent. Next, stir in the ginger and garlic and sauté another 2 minutes.
- Now return the browned beef cubes to the pot, add in the tomato paste, stir everything well, and cook for about one minute.
- Next, add in the chopped tomatoes, stir together well again, and bring the heat up to a rolling boil.
- Turn the heat down to where the dish is cooking at just a lively simmer, and cook for 9 or 10 minutes—until the tomatoes have reduced some.
- Add in enough stock to where the dish takes on the consistency of a stew, then simmer for another 10 to 12 minutes. Note: if you are going to add in vegetables, at this step is where you would add in those that require longer cooking time to become tender, like potatoes, yams, carrots, eggplant.
- Now add in the peanut butter, minced chili, and salt and pepper (to taste) and simmer for another 45 minutes, or until the beef is nice and tender. As the stew becomes well cooked, the oil will rise to the top. You can skim it off, or some people like to leave the oil.
- During the 45 minutes of simmer-cooking, you may need to add in water or more broth, if it gets too thick. Also add in any vegetables you want that require less cooking time as the stew approaches being fully cooked.
- This authentic Senegalese cuisine dish is traditionally served over couscous or rice.
Next up in our ethnic food adventure into the wonderful and delicious world of Senegalese cuisine, is this next very popular and traditional meal, a rice, vegetable and meat dish that will make you very popular with whomever you serve it to.
Yapp is the Senegalese word for “meat”, so you can use just about any meat you wish: beef, lamb, goat, or even chicken.
Ceebu Yapp
(Senegalese Meat with Rice and Vegetables)
Ingredients:
- 2 lb. boneless loin of lamb or beef sirloin, chopped into bite-sized pieces.
- 5 or 6 Thai Birds-Eye hot chili peppers, halved, seeds left in
- 4 to 5 large cloves garlic, minced
- Freshly ground coarse sea salt and black peppercorns, to taste
- 2 or 3 Knorr maggi bullion seasoning cubes (an absolute must have ingredient)
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ cup red palm oil or pure peanut oil (one or the other, but no other substitutes, for the authentic results!)
- 2 tbsp. yellow mustard
- 2 cups fine chopped white onions
- 5 cups beef or lamb broth
- 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced into small sticks
- 8 oz. green beans
- 1 large eggplant, peeled and chopped into thick sticks about 2-3” long
Note: I used carrots, green beans, and eggplant, but you can use any combination of veggies you like. In Senegalese cuisine, pumpkin or squash is very popular in a dish like this, too.
Directions:
- Season the meat with a rub of crushed Knorr Maggi cube, salt and pepper.
- Heat the oil over medium-high heat, in a large, deep pot or wok. Sauté the meat cubes adding and stirring in the mustard as they cook, and then when starting to brown, add in the chopped onion and minced garlic, stir everything together well, and sauté for about 5 minutes.
- Now add in more black pepper (to taste), 1 Knorr cube, crushed, and 2 bay leaves, and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Now add in the 5 cups of broth, stir, then add in your vegetables and peppers and stir again. You can add in another Maggi cube if you like, as well. Cover, and allow to cook for about 40 minutes.
- Then, using a slotted spoon, remove all the vegetables and meat from the pot, place in a covered bowl, and put the bowl in the oven set on very low heat, to keep them warm.
- Add the rice into the pot, cover, and cook until the rice is well done and tender. Stir now and then, to prevent sticking and burning on the pot’s bottom.
- So serve, spread the rice out over a large serving platter, and then spread the vegetables and meat over the top of the rice.
- A popular garnish with this dish is hard boiled eggs. If you want to include those, have them boiled at the right time to still be warm when you peel them, then halve them and arrange on top of the serving platter.
- Eat your Ceebu Yap with your hands! Provide each person with a hot, moist cleaning towel to clean their hands before partaking.
Here is a nicely done Youtube presentation on preparing Ceebu Yapp. This charming young African lady (you will just love her accent, but you may need to listen closely, lol) uses slightly different vegetables than the above recipe, and her techniques vary a bit, as well as her serving presentation. But you will still find it a useful visual to help you through preparing your Ceebu Yapp if this is your first time.
Next up is another Ceebu dish, but this one features fish as the meat. Although very similar in its ingredients and methods, there are still enough important elements of this Senegalese cuisine dish that it warrants its own recipe here on this page.
Ceebu Jen
(Senegalese Fish with Rice and Vegetables)
Ingredients:
- 2 lb. fish fillets, chopped into bite-sized chunks (use a firm fleshed fish, like snapper, cod, or mahi mahi)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 3 Scotch Bonnet hot chili peppers, chopped fine
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- Freshly ground coarse sea salt and black peppercorns, to taste
- ¼ cup red palm oil
- 2 onions, peeled and rough chopped
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 5 cups vegetable broth
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/8” thick rounds
- ½ head cabbage, cut into thin wedges
- ½ lb. pumpkin or winter squash, peeled and cut into ½” to ¾” cubes
- 1 eggplant, peeled and cut into ¾” cubes
- 2 cup uncooked white rice
- 3 lemons, cut into wedges
- 3 oz. smoked, dried fish, especially good are sprats
- 3 oz. escargot snails
Directions:
- Combine the parsley, salt, pepper, garlic, and chili peppers, and then rub the mixture all over the fish fillets. Scrape off any excess seasoning mixture and reserve.
- In a large, deep pot, over medium high heat, heat up the palm oil. When the oil is hot, add in the reserved seasoning mixture, stir, and then place the fish in to sauté. Also add into the pot the snails and sprats. Sauté until the fish is nicely browned on all sides, and then remove to a plate and set aside.
- Now add the chopped onions into the hot oil and sauté until cooked through and just beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and about ¼ cup of water. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in the stock or water, carrots, cabbage, pumpkin and eggplant and simmer over medium heat for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked through and tender. Add the browned fish and simmer for another 15 minutes or so. Remove the fish and vegetables and about 1 cup of the broth to a platter, cover and set in a warm oven.
- Strain the remaining broth, discarding the solids. Add enough water to the broth to make 4 cups and return to heat. Bring the broth to a boil, stir in the rice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the rice is cooked through and tender.
- Spread the cooked rice out in a large serving platter, then spread the vegetables and fish around in the center of the rice. Lastly, pour the remaining broth over everything. Garnish with lemon wedges.
- To serve, provide hot, moist towels for everyone, to wash their hands. Place the large serving platter in the center of the table (or on the floor, if you really want to do it up in true, authentic Senegalese cuisine fashion) and everyone eats with their hands from the same central platter.
Since we are on the subject of Ceebu, and especially Ceebu Jen, have yourself another Senegalese cuisine favorite dish that many people of Senegal enjoy with their Ceebu Jen.
Boulettes de Poisson
(Deep Fried Fish Balls with Tomato Sauce)
Ingredients:
For the Fish Balls-
- 1 onion, chopped fine
- 2 to 3 Scotch Bonnet peppers, chopped fine
- ½ bunch of parsley, chopped
- 2 lb. whitefish fillets, chopped
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- 1 Maggi seasoning cube (a favored African seasoning, you just have to have this ingredient!)
- ¼ cup whole milk
- Freshly ground coarse sea salt and black peppercorns, to taste
- Lots of vegetable oil for deep frying
For the Tomato Sauce-
- 3 tbsp. red palm oil
- 1 onion, chopped fine
- 2 to 3 Scotch Bonnet peppers, minced
- 4 large cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp. tomato paste
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- Freshly ground coarse sea salt and black peppercorns, to taste
Directions:
For the Fish Balls-
- Place the fish, onion, parsley and chilis into a food processor (or large mortar and pestle if you want to do it the traditional Senegalese cuisine style) and process until well blended and smooth. Add the fish and continue to process until smooth and pasty, then place in a large bowl.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, blend together the milk and bread crumbs, then add this into the bowl with the fish mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir and blend both mixtures together thoroughly.
- Oil your hands and use them to form the fish mixture into balls (about the size of a golf ball), and set them on a tray or platter.
- Heat the vegetable oil to about 365°F in a deep fryer or a high-walled skillet. Put a few of the fish balls in and deep fry, turning often, until the balls are a deep, golden brown color on the outside. Take them out with a large slotted spoon and set them on a paper towel-lined platter to drain, and repeat the process until all the fish balls are cooked. Set aside while you prepare the tomato sauce.
For the Tomato Sauce-
- Heat the red palm oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add in the garlic, chilis and the onion, and sauté until the onion is cooked through, fragrant and translucent.
- Add in the tomatoes and tomato paste, stir together well, and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes. Add in the broth, salt and pepper, and stir together well again. Simmer for another 5 minutes or so.
- Now add the fish balls into the tomato sauce and simmer for just another couple of minutes.
- Do a taste test, and adjust seasonings if necessary.
- Serve over rice pilaf or, better yet, some Ceebu Jen.
Senegal is far and away the world’s biggest producer of peanuts. Agriculturally they account for some 60% of all peanut-related exports, 75% of which is peanut oil. And they leave behind plenty of peanuts to satisfy the nation’s taste for them, too.
Makes sense, then, that one of the most popular desert dishes found in Senegalese cuisine is this next recipe.
Senegalese Peanut Ice Cream
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all natural, low-to-no salt, creamy peanut butter
- 1) 14 oz. can of evaporated milk
- 4 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup granulated white cane sugar
- 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup whole milk
Directions:
- Bring to boil enough water in a 2 quart saucepan to immerse the 14 oz. can of evaporated milk, and boil the can for 20 minutes
- Place the can in a 2 quart mixing bowl, submerged in cold water with ice, and chill the can completely for several hours, stirring with an egg beater.
- Your egg beater should by now be very cold. Open the can, empty the ice water out of the cold bowl, pour the chilled evaporated milk into the cold bowl, and whip it with your cold egg beater.
- Now add in 4 tbsp of fresh lemon juice, and ½ cup sugar.
- In another (3 quart) bowl, combine the condensed milk, whole milk, and the peanut butter.
- Gently fold the whipped mixture into the peanut butter mixture, until blended and smooth.
- Pour the combined mixture into a 6 cup mold or freezer trays and place in the freezer to thoroughly freeze.
- To serve, scoop out portions with an ice cream scoop. Peanut ice cream, Senegalese cuisine style, goes great with some fresh fruit—bananas, mangoes, papayas and baobab are national favorites.
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