Yolele – Recipes from the heart of Senegal

By Pierre Thiam, Photography by Adam Bartos

A book review by Franz Scheurer

 

Pierre Thiam’s passion for his native Senegal in West Africa is unquestionable and palatable and the colourful photography by Adam Bartos makes this book come to life and captivate our senses. This book is so good that it doesn’t so much as animate you to go there than giving you the feeling that you’ve just come back from a long trek, exploring the smells, vistas, aromas and flavours of daily life in Senegal. Bartos’ pictures remind me in style of something I’d expect to see in the pages of National Geographic and you can almost smell the dishes as you look at them.

 

Senegal is a melting pot of many cultures and its culture was augmented by the Arabs, the Portuguese, the French and even influenced by cuisines as far as Vietnam and the Americas. Many American Créole dishes are a direct import from West Africa and the local expression ‘Yolélé’ is similar in sentiment to the catchphrase in New Orleans ‘Laissez les bon temps rouler’ (let the good times roll).

 

Senegal has a long coastline and the climate varies from arid to sub-tropical and it’s rich in natural resources. Due to the fact that Senegalese like to use the freshest ingredients they grow and sell almost all their produce locally. There is none of the Western weekly shopping but there’s a culture of shopping daily, taking great pride and joy in the daily haggling for produce or freshly caught fish. A word you hear throughout Senegal is ‘teranga’, a welcome to the local house and the local table. Hospitality in Senegal is alive and well!

 

The various conquerors left their mark in the local languages and you hear a lot of Portuguese Créole, Wolof (Senegal’s lingua franca) and French. Senegal’s traditions are kept alive by the ‘griots’, men and women who recall and teach history through the spoken or sung word. Senegal’s cuisine has been passed on from mother to daughter for eons and secret family recipes are guarded and cherished.

 

It was this family atmosphere that inspired Pierre Thiam to cook although cultural constraints stopped him from considering cooking as a profession; Men in Senegal just don’t cook. This book illustrates Thiam’s journey throughout the world and his identifying with his native food and willingness to introduce it to the world.

 

The book is divided into:

 

Appetizers and Street Food

Seafood 

Meat 

Vegetables

The Middle Passage

Desserts

Drinks

And finally: Party Menus

 

A comprehensive glossary helps you identify some of the more exotic ingredients and a good index helps you find a particular recipe quickly.

 

A ‘Green Mango Salad’ is very different from its Thai cousin and the classic dish from Guinea Bissau, ‘Tempra’ is similar to a Peruvian ceviche but the seafood is grilled before it is marinated. I love the simplicity of the ‘Grilled Sea Urchins’ on page 26 and the ‘Pastels’ are not unlike empanadas. The ‘Shrimp and Sweet Potato Fritters’ on page 35 are very moreish and the Vietnamese influenced ‘Nems’, vegetarian spring rolls, are fantastic and a street food found everywhere. The ‘Rice and Seafood Pilaf’ takes a bit of work, but it’s well worth it and I suggest you learn how to make ‘Rof’, a popular condiment used to stuff fish and it works a treat; try it at your next BBQ. They have learnt to use the fifth quarter from the French and the ‘Tripe Stew with Beef and Calf’s Feet’ is unctuous, gelatinous and marvellous. If you have not tried the ‘Vegetable Mafe’ a vegetarian dish, adapted from the original Malian dish (although all of West Africa claims Mafe as their own) you have not lived. It’s a terrific vegetable dish and can be eaten as a filling and satisfying main course. Another interesting dish is ‘Soupi Kandja Royale’, a true ancestor of the Louisiana Gumbo and Senegal’s version of Surf ‘n’ Turf.

 

Your dessert stomach get its fair share, too with the ‘Sombi’, a roasted mango and coconut rice pudding, ‘Banana Fritters’ or the ‘Carrot, Coconut and Pineapple Cake’.

 

This is a fabulous book and the next best thing to a trip to Dakar. It’s informative, colourful and a joy to read and to cook from. The recipes are achievable and all the ingredients are available in most cities of Australia.

 

ISBN: 978 1 891105 38 8

Lake Isle Press

Available from Books for Cooks in Melbourne for $39.95