The Shared Bowl

Awa Diop

Awa was born in Dakar's Medina quarter, where she learned to cook thieboudienne from her grandmother over a charcoal fire on the sand. She now runs a tiny Senegalese kitchen in Barcelona's Raval, where every Sunday she ladles yassa and ceebu jën from one enormous communal bowl the whole neighborhood eats from with their hands. Her rule is simple: nobody who walks in hungry leaves hungry, and there is always room for one more spoon around the bowl.

SenegaleseWest AfricanCoastal

Voice · warm, communal, proud, bold, generous

Signature Dishes

The essential curation of Awa's favorites.

45 MIN

Buckwheat Chickpea Fritters with Mustard and Lemon

Golden, crispy fritters made with nutty buckwheat and hearty chickpeas, bound with bold mustard and brightened with lemon. These generous cakes carry the warmth of cayenne and the depth of slow-cooked onion in every bite.

45 MIN

Smoked Paprika Chicken Thigh and Carrot Fritters with Lemon

Crispy smoked paprika-coated chicken thighs served alongside golden carrot fritters brightened with fresh lemon. A bold, communal feast in one bowl.

50 MIN

Roasted Carrot and Cashew Bites with Lemon and Cayenne

Caramelized carrot chunks scattered with toasted cashews, brightened with lemon and a whisper of cayenne heat — a bold, generous bowl of West African-inspired roasted vegetables.

75 MIN

Pinto Bean and Butternut Squash Yassa Croquettes with Smoked Paprika

Crispy golden croquettes born from two of West Africa's most generous ingredients — pinto beans and butternut squash — bathed in the bright, deeply caramelized yassa of lemon, mustard, and smoked paprika. Served from one shared bowl, made to feed a crowd.

50 MIN

Caramelized Onion Cod Bites with Lemon and Cayenne

Tender bite-sized cod pieces nestled on a bed of deeply caramelized yellow onion, brightened with lemon and warmed with cayenne — a bold, communal riff on classic fish and onion.

55 MIN

Caramelized Onion Cod Fritters with Lemon and Cayenne

Golden cod fritters loaded with slow-caramelized onions, bright lemon, and a gentle kick of cayenne — crispy outside, tender and savory within.

43 MIN

Buckwheat and Cashew Cake with Lemon Maple Drizzle

A warmly nutty buckwheat cake studded with crunchy cashews, finished with a bright lemon and rich maple drizzle — perfect for sharing from one generous bowl.

40 MIN

Sesame Roasted Sweet Potato with Lemon and Cayenne

Caramelized sweet potato cubes tossed with a bright lemon-cayenne glaze and toasted sesame seeds — bold, warm, and perfect for sharing from one bowl.

35 MIN

Garlic Shrimp and Cashew Bowl

Plump shrimp bathed in garlicky butter with toasted cashews and a squeeze of lemon, served over fluffy white rice — a generous bowl made for sharing.

45 MIN

Shrimp and Sweet Potato Jollof Skillet

A bold one-pan jollof rice studded with tender sweet potato and plump shrimp, built on a mountain of caramelized onion with a hard squeeze of lemon and gentle cayenne warmth.

90 MIN

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Cashew and Carrot

Bold roasted chicken thighs nestled among sweet caramelized carrots and crunchy toasted cashews, brightened with lemon and warmed with cayenne. A proud, generous dish made for sharing from one warm platter.

50 MIN

Pan-Seared Salmon with Caramelized Onion and Lemon

Wild-caught salmon fillets pan-seared to golden perfection, resting on a bed of deeply caramelized yellow onion slowly cooked in butter, finished with a bright squeeze of lemon and a splash of herb-flecked butter sauce.

45 MIN

Sardine and Carrot Rice Bowl with Lemon and Cayenne

A bold Senegalese-inspired bowl where silky caramelized onions and tender sardines nestle on fluffy white rice, brightened with lemon and warmed with cayenne. One bowl, shared with love.

65 MIN

Spiced Lentil and Carrot Yassa over White Rice

A warming Senegalese-inspired Yassa with tender lentils and sweet carrots bathed in a bold lemon-mustard sauce piled high over fragrant white rice.

45 MIN

One-Pot Cod, Carrot, and Cashew Rice

A warm, communal one-pot dish where tender flakes of cod nestle among fluffy rice, sweet julienned carrots, and crunchy cashews. Bright lemon and gentle cayenne make every spoonful sing.

50 MIN

Cashew Chickpea Mafe

A rich West African peanut-cashew stew with tender chicken, chickpeas, and sweet potato in a deeply flavored sauce. Creamy from ground cashew, brightened with lemon and cayenne heat, ladled over white rice for a communal feast.

55 MIN

Coconut Cod and Sweet Potato Braise

A warming West African-inspired braise where tender cod fillets nestle in a rich, deeply savory broth of caramelized onion, sweet potato, and tomato, finished with a bright squeeze of lemon and fragrant parsley.

75 MIN

Thiébou Djen with Carrot and Cashew

A vibrant Senegalese one-pot rice dish where flaky white fish melds with sweet caramelized onion, tender carrot, and crunchy cashew over fragrant rice. Bold, communal, and generous.

155 MIN

Yassa Chicken Thighs with Mustard and Slow-Cooked Onion

Tender chicken thighs nestled in a mountain of deeply caramelized onions bathed in bright lemon-mustard sauce, served over fluffy white rice. This is the dish Awa's grandmother made on Sundays — slow-cooked, generous, and meant to be shared from one bowl.

55 MIN

Bright Lemon Cod over Rice with Roasted Carrot

Tender cod fillets bathed in a glossy caramelized lemon-cayenne sauce served over fluffy rice with sweet roasted carrots. A bright, bold Senegalese-inspired one-bowl meal.

60 MIN

One-Bowl Caramelized Onion Fish with Tomato and Cashew

A generous one-bowl meal of tender white fish nestled in a rich sauce of deeply caramelized yellow onion and bright tomato, finished with toasted cashew and a squeeze of lemon over fluffy white rice.

45 MIN

Cashew Butternut Squash Mafe

Butternut squash and carrot dissolve slowly into a sweet, bold tomato-and-onion base, while whole cashews give the stew its characteristic richness and something to find with your spoon. Ground together in one pot with patience, this is the kind of mafe that warms the whole room — nourishing, full-bodied, made for sharing.

50 MIN

Casamance Cod in Bright Lime Broth

Cod poached gently in a clear, citrus-forward broth of lime, garlic, and soft onion — clean and bright where Awa's other fish dishes are rich and smothering, a nod to the lighter coastal cooking of the Casamance. Served over white rice that anchors the delicate broth, it asks nothing more of you than a bowl and a spoon.

45 MIN

Senegalese Lentil and Carrot Soup

Lentils and carrot cooked down into a thick, warming broth built on a base of long-softened onion and tomato, with cayenne running a clean heat underneath from first sip to last. Simple to make, impossible to rush — this is the soup that fills the kitchen with smell before it fills the bowl.

40 MIN

Lemon Garlic Shrimp over Rice

Shrimp cooked quickly in a bright, sharp garlic-and-lemon pan sauce, then lifted with torn parsley and served over white rice that soaks up every fragrant drop. Quick enough for a weeknight, generous enough to feel like a celebration — the kind of dish Awa would put in the center and tell everyone to help themselves.

50 MIN

Onion-Smothered Cod Yassa

Cod fillets buried beneath a thick tangle of onion cooked until completely soft and golden, spiked with mustard, lemon, and enough cayenne to give the dish its backbone. The sauce is the point here — bold and generous, the fish a tender anchor beneath a smothering that is pure yassa spirit.

120 MIN

Whole Roast Chicken Senegalese Yassa

A whole chicken marinated in lemon, mustard, and garlic, then roasted until the skin is crackled and golden, the flesh pulling easily from the bone. Over the top goes a slow-cooked avalanche of caramelized onion — sweet, savory, almost jammy — that turns this into something genuinely celebratory, the centerpiece of a Sunday table.

60 MIN

Yassa Chickpeas with Caramelized Onion

Built on the same bold yassa spirit that anchors so much of Awa's cooking — a heap of slowly caramelized onion sharpened with mustard and lemon, then folded through tender chickpeas and finished with cayenne that lingers warmly on the back of the throat. Every component earns its place, and together they make something far bigger than the sum.

50 MIN

Spiced Chicken and Pumpkin Stew

Chicken thighs braise in a deep, fragrant sauce of tomato, yellow onion, and ginger until the meat falls and the pumpkin has soaked up every bit of flavor around it. Warm and substantial, this stew carries the kind of heat that comes from patience — the sort of bowl you bring to the table and let everyone reach into together.

80 MIN

Chicken Yassa with Caramelized Onions and Lemon

Chicken thighs marinated in lemon, mustard, and cayenne, then slow-cooked under a collapsing heap of caramelized onion that turns silky and sweet against the tang and heat. This is yassa as it should be — unapologetically seasoned, deeply aromatic, and made for passing around the table until the pot is clean.

From the Pantry

Signature staples

yellow-onionlemonmustardcayennewhite-ricechicken-thigh

Favorite tools

DutchOvenWoodenSpoonChefKnifeStockPot

Reaches for

chicken-thighyellow-onionlemoncodwhite-ricecashewtomatocarrot

Steers clear of

porkbaconhamheavy-cream

Flavor Profile

The Loves

lemony brightnessdeeply caramelized onionbold savory depthgentle cayenne heatone-pot richness

The Defaults

a mountain of slow-cooked oniona hard squeeze of lemoncayenne for warmtheverything served from one shared bowl

The Avoids

timid seasoningeating alonewatery thin saucebland white rice