Une journée dans la cuisine

Niamey got with the times, yesterday, and had some fake news. It was widely reported that the outcome of the final review of the election results would be announced at 1pm, and journalists were being invited to the event.

This immediately put everyone on a high security alert, and we were advised to stay home.

What to do on a hot Sunday when confined to the house? Why cooking, of course! Lunch was leek and potato soup, and as we had no bread in the house (in this hot dry climate, bread lasts a day, if you are lucky), I made scones topped with cheese.

The tomatoes in the gardening are ripening quickly. And a new basil plant has started to grow, So a salad came together, topped with olive oil, pomegranate molasses and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Before lunch was ready, it was announced that there was no announcement at 1pm. As was quickly pointed out, the Government does not invite journalists to these events anyway, so it was just a rumour. The security alert was lifted.

Two friends were coming over for dinner. As these are African men, a lump of solid protein on the plate was called for. I had some Capitaine steaks in the fridge, and made a chermoulah sauce to go with them. This zingy dressing always gets my taste buds dancing.

Salades composées are a big thing here, and there is indeed something nice about fussing with the presentation of vegetables.

I love working with Phyllo pastry, but haven't found it here. I did have some North African Brik (or Briq, or Warqa) pastry in the freezer. This was my first time using it (and my oven has no indicators of temperature, it's a pure guessing game!) so the spinach pie was a little too dark. But the mango-lassi-pudding for dessert was an unconditional success!

Before dinner was served, we heard that the election results would be proclaimed at 7pm. And they were. To no one's surprise, the outcome did not change, but to most people's amazement there were no street protests. The decision by the Niamey Mayor not to allow a peaceful march is still controversial here, and we may see some fallout from that in coming days. I'm just going to stay home and eat leftovers!

Chermoulah Recipe

1 Tsp ground Cumin

1 Tsp ground Coriander

1 bunch fresh Coriander (Cilantro)

1 bunch Parsley

3 large cloves of Garlic

1 thumb-sized piece of Ginger root

Juice of 1 - 2 lemons

Chilli paste to taste (optional)

Salt to taste

Whiz everything up together in a food processor/blender, until it's a fairly smooth paste. It helps to start with the garlic and ginger first, but it's not essential. You can also add tomatoes to the mix, it makes it more of a liquid sauce.

Wonderful on all kinds of fish, vegetables and (I'm told) meat. For the Capitaine, I parboiled some carrots and potatoes, and sauteed a large onion. I put the Capitaine on top and cooked on the stovetop, with the lid on the pan, for about 25 minutes, until the fish was cooked through.

Mango Lassi Pudding

Not really a recipe: I just pureed the flesh from two small and one very large mangoes, added a hint of nutmeg and a pinch of salt. I reserved some of this pure to decorate the top, and stirred through about 200ml of very stiff yogurt through the rest. I already had the glasses chilling in the fridge, and just kept everything really cold until ready to serve.