Pierre Thiam
Teranga Man
There’s far more to West African food than jollof, the famous one-pot-rice dish found all over the region. Rich in ingredients yet soon to become mainstream in Europe or America. Ever heard of fonio? Well it could soon replace rice in your larder. Keen to know more? Then Pierre Thiam is your man. A New York based Senegalese author and chef bringing light to food from the West of the continent.
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Yes, Teranga is one of the highest values in Senegal. Hospitality is something that Sen-egalese people take very seriously. It’s much wider than hospitality, because it’s a way of life. You go to Senegal, you are treated as a guest of honor really, even if you’re not expected. You meet someone and they will give you Teranga at its best. When you come to a house, where lunch or dinner is being served, even if you’re not expected, you’ll be invited and that’s a strong value. Even if food is not being served, you’ll be offered something or a drink, either a hibiscus or a ginger drink. Teranga is a value that Senegalese strongly believe in. They strongly believe that by sharing what they have and giving the best of what they have they’ll receive blessings in return. That’s Teranga.
«Hospitality is something that Senegalese people take very seriously.»
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I guess I’ll start with the national dish, it’s called Thiéboudienne. It’s similar to paella in a sense. It is rice cooked in a rich tomato broth, a broth flavored with fish. Sometimes there’s even other seafood like shrimp inside. That’s if you are making Thiéboudienne Sous which is like the deluxe Thiéboudienne. It also has vegetables like root vegetables, cassava, carrots, sometimes eggplants,
cabbage. The particularity of the flavoring, and this you see throughout Senegalese dishes, is the fermentation. That is the most common seasoning. Often they use a fermented guedge but sometimes it’s fermented locust bean called nététou, or even dried fish that’s been steeped under the sun with salt and beef and rice. All that adds a really particular flavor, a particular funk to the dish that makes it really special. You also have dishes from the South. One is called Yassa, which contains onion sauce with lime and is used with grilled chicken or fish over Jasmine rice.
Salmon & cassava croquettes with tamarind glaze
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Fonio is an ancient grain that’s been cultivated for over 5,000 years in Africa.
It’s probably the oldest cultivated grain. It’s delicious and very delicate. Nutty flavor, very versatile and nutritious. It’s rich in amino acids, cysteine, and methionine. These are rare in most grains, so that’s particular to fonio. In addition to that, it’s great for the environment. It’s a grain that is drought resistant, grows in poor soil and matures really quickly. It cooks quickly too! Fonio cooks within five minutes. It’s an amazing grain. It’s a grain that has
a lot of benefits in addition to being easy to cook with. In Mali, the Bambara people have a saying: “Fonio never embarrasses the cook,” because that’s how easy it is to prepare.
Prawns in coconut & lime over millet couscous thiéré
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Nem is of Vietnamese origin, it’s their spring rolls. There is a community of Vietnamese that arrived in Senegal around colonial times because the French used to have an empire that spread from Senegal, all the way to Southeast Asia including Vietnam. That was Indochina at the time.
There were some troubles, of course. People fought for their liberation and the French colonial army was called Le Tirailleurs Sénégalais, that was like the Senegalese Battalion in a sense.
They would send of course the African soldiers from the colonial empire to fight the Vietnamese. When they had to leave Vietnam, a big community of Vietnamese followed them, those ones who were on the wrong side of the war I guess.
They came to Senegal and have been established for some time now. They came with their food and we love the food. It became a big part of our food. Particularly the Nem. You don’t go to a name birthing ceremony in Senegal without having them.
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I have a new book coming out this fall. This one will be actually be focusing on fonio. Following the agriculture of fonio. I travelled with a photographer, documenting the harvesting, processing and traditional preparation of fonio as well as imagining recipes that are suited for a New York kitchen. Collaborating with a great photographer named Adam Bartos. I’m very excited about it. It should come out this fall.
