Recipe: Several African recipes for Elaine: Benachin, Fried Fish in Peanut Sauce, Capitaine and Pili-Pili in Palm Oil, Pastels

Benachin
(Benachin is a "one-pot" dish related to Jollof Rice and Ceebu J n. They are all "rice and . . . " dishes, i.e., rice and whatever else is available that strikes the cook's fancy. The most common method of preparing Benachin is to cook the ingredients in a large pot, starting with whatever needs the longest cooking time, then adding the rice and any additional liquid needed and simmering until the rice is done. Sometimes, the rice is steamed in a colander which is placed over the fish and vegetables while they are cooking, then it is stirred in with the rest to finish cooking. Alternately, the fish and vegetables are removed from the pot, and the rice is cooked in the remaining liquid, then the fish and vegetables gently stirred into the rice. This is a fish Benachin recipe, but chicken or beef could also be used.)

What you need:

one cup cooking oil
one clove garlic, minced (optional)
two onions, chopped
two to three pounds of fresh fish, perch is good but any fish can be used (fillets or whole)
one squash (butternut or similar works well) or sweet pumpkin, peeled and chopped
one hot chile pepper and/or one sweet green pepper, cleaned and chopped (optional)
two tomatoes (peeled if desired), chopped; or canned tomatoes
one spoonful tomato paste
one small cabbage, chopped (optional)
two carrots, chopped (optional)
one bay leaf
one bouillon cube
two cups of rice, (rinsed)
one piece dried fish
salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper or red pepper, to taste

Heat the oil in a large pot. Fry the garlic and onions for minute over high heat. Fry the fish for a few minutes on each side, then remove the fish and set it aside. Add the squash or pumpkin and cook for a few minutes more, stirring often. Add the chile pepper and/or green pepper and cook for a few minutes more. Add the cabbage, carrots, bay leaf, and bouillon cube. Add two cups of water and stir in the tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Stir in the rice, making sure it all gets wet. Add the dried fish. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until everything is tender. Season to taste.

Fried Fish in Peanut Sauce
(This recipe, from Cameroon, is made with a fish called the daurade (or dorade, similar to the porgy or sea bream) in a peanut sauce.)

What you need:
palm oil
one whole fish (daurade, porgy, bream, or similar), washed, patted dry, and cut into serving size pieces (save the head)
two or three cloves of garlic, minced
one spoonful coriander
one-half spoonful ground ginger
one-half spoonful nutmeg, grated
salt (to taste)
black pepper (to taste)
smoked or dried shrimp or prawns (or fish); half of it ground into powder and half for garnish
peanut oil
one onion, finely sliced
one to three chile peppers, cleaned
one cup peanut butter (natural or homemade)

Heat a few spoonfuls of palm oil in a skillet. Fry the fish and half of the garlic on both sides until done. Set aside on absorbent paper. Grind together the coriander, ginger, nutmeg, salt, black pepper, and half the dried shrimp (or fish). In a saucepan bring four cups of water to a boil. Add the fish head and the spices and ground dried shrimp (or fish). Reduce heat and let simmer. Heat a few spoonfuls of peanut oil in a clean skillet. Fry onion and remaining garlic until browned. Add chile pepper. Reduce heat. Add the fried fish to the onion-garlic mixture. Remove fish head from broth. Strain broth if desired. Add peanut butter. Stir until smooth. Simmer over low heat until it is thickened into a sauce. Pour the thickened sauce into the skillet over the fish and onions. Add remaining dried shrimp (of fish). Simmer together for a few minutes. Serve fish and sauce over boiled Rice, with boiled Plantains on the side. The cooked chile peppers can be served or discarded as desired.

Capitaine & Pili-Pili in Palm Oil
(The Capitaine (Lates niloticus, or Mbuta, Nile Perch, Lake Victoria Perch) is a prized eating fish throughout Africa. It is native to Lake Chad and the Nile, Congo, and Niger rivers. In the 1950's it was introduced to Lake Victoria, where it destroyed many of the endemic cichlid fish species, inculding the Ngege. The Congolese recipe combines it with two essential elements of Congolese cooking: hot pili-pili peppers and palm oil.)

What you need:
one cup palm oil
one onion, finely chopped
hot chile pepper, cleaned and chopped (or left whole)
two pounds of filleted fish (Capitaine or Nile Perch, if possible, or other white-fleshed fish)
salt, black pepper

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Cook the onions and chile pepper for a few minutes. (Use chopped chile peppers for a hot spicy dish, or use whole chile peppers and remove them after cooking for a milder taste. Cook the fish in the oil for a few minutes, then turn it (once) to cook the other side. Adjust seasonings to taste. Variations: add tomatoes, okra, green pepper, or garlic with the onions and chile pepper. As is often the case with common names, Capitaine and Nile Perch are often applied to other fishes.

Pastels
(Pastels (Pastels aux Poisson, Beignets de Poisson, or Fish pies) are fish turnovers, i.e., crusts of pastry with fish stuffing. Pastels are usually fried, but can also be baked. They are usually served with a spicy tomato sauce. The West African Pastel is similar to the empanada (or empanadilla in Puerto Rico) of the Hispanic world, and the samosa of India, even the Chinese wonton, Italian ravioli, and Polish pierogi (though the later are likely to be cooked in boiling water instead of hot oil).

You may wonder how this dish, a popular snack or appetizer in Western Africa, got its name (and if it has anything to do with artist's colors). Evidently, pastels are a Western African version of the famous Pigeon Pie of Morocco, which is more properly known as Bastilla (Bestilla, B'stila, Bstila). The Moroccan Bastilla is made with fowl, while in Western Africa fish is usually used. Similar and not-so-similar dishes with similar names (Pasteles, etc.) are found in Latin America, though if they were brought there via Africa or the Iberian peninsula (where Pasteles are also found) cannot be determined. And though it may seem that Pastels do not have much in common with artist's colors, linguists believe that the Moroccan Bastilla, the West African Pastel, and the artist's crayons all take their name from the same Latin root meaning "paste", from which we get "pasta"

Pastry:
three cups of all-purpose flour (wheat flour)
three eggs, lightly beaten -- or -- one 1/4 ounce envelope of active dry yeast (baker's yeast) or similar, mixed with a spoonful of warm water
one teaspoon salt
one cup warm water
one tablespoon vegetable oil

Stuffing:
a few spoonfuls of oil
one to two pounds fish (mackerel, mullet, tuna, grouper, or whatever), filleted, skin and bones removed
one onion, finely chopped (optional)
one carrot, finely chopped (optional)
one clove of garlic, minced (optional)
one bunch of parsley, chopped (optional)
two tablespoons tomato paste
salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper or red pepper (to taste)

Sauce:
two tomatoes, skin removed and chopped
one sweet green pepper, finely chopped
one onion, finely chopped
one cup vegetable oil
one clove of garlic, minced (or garlic powder)
one bunch chopped parsley, chopped
chile pepper, cleaned and finely chopped
two tablespoons tomato paste
two cups water
salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper or red pepper (to taste)

All pastry ingredients should be allowed to come to room temperature if they have been in the refrigerator. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, eggs or yeast, and salt. Slowly mix in the water so as to make a thick dough. Knead for a few minutes. Cover with a clean cloth and set aside in a warm place (like the oven, briefly heated then turned off) to rest. If using yeast, the dough should rest for at least an hour or two. While the dough is resting: Heat oil in a skillet. Fry the fish and vegetables ingredients for stuffing. Reduce heat. Add tomato paste and enough water to keep the mixture moist, cover, and simmer for half an hour. Adjust seasoning. Chop fish into small pieces. Heat oil in a separate pot. Fry the vegetable ingredients for sauce. Reduce heat. Add tomato paste and water, cover, and simmer. Adjust seasoning. Roll the dough into a sheet about a quarter of an inch (0.6 centimeter) thick. Cut the dough into pieces, each about the size of your hand. (An inverted bowl can be used to cut circles, or you cut them into squares.) Place a spoonful of the stuffing mixture in the center of each piece of dough, fold the dough over the stuffing, and crimp the edges together. Fry the pastels in hot oil. Use a skillet with an half inch of oil, or a pot with enough oil to allow the pastels to float. Fry the pastels until they are golden brown, turning them at least once. Fry only a few at a time, not letting them touch each other while frying. When each batch is done, place the pastels on a paper towel, and place in a warm oven until all are done. Garnish with a little left over parsley. Serve with a bowl filled with the warm dipping sauce.