African Jollof Rice

How to prepare african jollof rice

1. In a food processor (or with an immersion blender), blend together 1/2 onion cut into pieces, the peppers, canned tomatoes, and peeled garlic. Blend well until you get a paste.
2. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of oil and add the vegetable paste. Sauté over medium heat at first, then lower the heat when the liquid starts to evaporate. Stir more frequently toward the end so it doesn't burn. Sauté the paste until most of its liquid has evaporated and it starts to caramelize slightly. This takes about 15-20 minutes.
3. Add the turmeric and tomato paste and sauté everything for 1 more minute, stirring constantly.
4. Add the chicken bones if using, ginger cut into slices, and 6 cups of water. Add salt and grind plenty of black pepper. Bring to a boil. Simmer covered (45 minutes if you added chicken bones; if not, 20 minutes is enough). The result will be an intensely red broth. Taste for salt toward the end.
5. Strain the broth through a fine sieve. Discard what remains in the sieve. Measure 5 cups of broth (1250 ml). If there's less, top up with water.
   * The broth can be used immediately or stored in the refrigerator until you prepare the rice.
7. In a very wide pan (I used a paella pan, 35 cm diameter), heat 1 tablespoon of oil and sauté the remaining 1/2 onion cut into thin slices just until softened (about 10 minutes). Add the curry, bay leaf, and thyme and sauté for 1 more minute.
8. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Sprinkle the rice in an even layer across the entire surface of the pan. Sprinkle a little more salt. Bring to a boil and cook over high heat for 2 minutes. Add cubes of butter across the entire surface.
9. Lower the heat and cook until the rice is done (another 15 minutes) and has absorbed almost all the broth. During this time, don't stir the rice, but you can shake the pan and rotate it on the burner so it cooks evenly. Being a large pan, I placed it on the large wok burner and kept rotating it during the 15 minutes so it simmered slowly but evenly across the entire surface. Turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid or aluminum foil for at least 10 minutes. If you want a crispy crust on the bottom, check in the center with a knife to see if it's already formed. If not, turn the heat to maximum and leave the pan until you smell a sweet, toasted aroma. Turn off the heat immediately—the crust should only be golden, don't burn the rice.
10. Serve the rice directly from the pan at the table. It's good with any type of meat (chicken, beef, shrimp) or with chickpeas. I served it with pieces of "steamed" chicken breast.

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