Wouldn’t we all be happier if we had more J-words in our life? Jolly, jiggle, juggle, jump, jumble, jazzy! Don’t they just make you smile? Heck, even justice starts with a J! Anyway, this dish is called jollof, so I endorse it! Jollof makes me jubilant!
Ingredients
- 3 small tomatoes, quartered
- 1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, split apart
- 1 habañero pepper, stemmed, seeded
- 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp berbere or other chile powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 lb frozen okra, thawed, sliced
- 1 jalapeño pepper, stemmed, seeded, diced
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups jasmine or other long grain white rice, uncooked
How to Make It
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a blender, puree tomatoes, bell pepper, and habañero. Set aside.
- Place a skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the onion, carrot, cumin, garlic powder, turmeric, berbere, and salt, and sauté until the onion becomes almost translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Add tomato paste and continue to sauté for 3 minutes.
- Add the blender purée to the skillet, along with okra and jalapeño. Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer for 10 minutes. Add broth and bring back to a simmer.
- Place rice in a baking dish. Pour skillet contents over the rice, stirring to combine. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 35 minutes.
- Remove the jollof from the oven and allow it to rest, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove the foil, fluff, and serve directly to bowls. It’s popular across Western Africa to serve jollof as an accompaniment to meat or fish.
