Thieboudienne (Senegalese Fish and Rice)

Ingredients

• 1 kg firm fish steaks (such as grouper)
• 1 large bunch parsley
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 scotch bonnet
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ cup cooking oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 6 cups water
• ½ small cabbage, in wedges
• 2 carrots, halved
• 1 small cassava, peeled and cut in chunks
• 1 aubergine, in chunks
• 3 cups broken rice, rinsed
• 1 lime

Method

1. Pound the parsley, garlic, scotch bonnet and half the salt into a paste. Cut slits in the fish and stuff with the paste.
2. Brown the fish in the oil and lift out. Fry the onions in the same oil, add the tomato paste and fry for 5 minutes.
3. Add the water and the rest of the salt. Add the vegetables and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the fish for the last 15 minutes.
4. Lift out the fish and vegetables and keep them warm. Measure 4 ½ cups of the cooking liquid back into the pot (top up with water if needed).
5. Add the rice, cover and cook on low for 25 to 30 minutes until tender. Serve the rice topped with the fish and vegetables, with lime.

Gluten-free check: Many cooks add a stock cube; if you do, use one labelled gluten-free – most standard cubes are not. Fermented fish and dried shellfish are traditional – check any packed product.