The Gambia

A Gambian street-food of charcoal-grilled beef and offal — commonly liver, kidney, and heart — seasoned with raw onion and fresh chilli, cooked to order over open coals and served hot.

A West African deep-fried fritter made from peeled black-eyed peas ground into a smooth, aerated paste, seasoned with onion and chili, and fried until puffed and golden.

A Wolof one-pot rice dish in which parboiled or broken rice is cooked directly in a deeply caramelised tomato-onion braise enriched with whole fish or meat and layered with root vegetables, finishing with a prized crispy bottom crust.

A dense sweet brittle of toasted sesame seeds bound with caramelized sugar and pressed into a cake.

A Gambian sweet breakfast of fermented steamed millet (couscous) softened and sweetened with sugar and evaporated milk.

A thick groundnut-paste stew of Gambian and Senegalese origin, built on a tomato-and-onion base with meat or fish and often root vegetables, served over steamed white rice.

A Gambian soupy stew of fresh fish simmered in a light palm-oil broth thickened with cassava or fufu, sharpened with lime and bitter greens.

A festive Senegambian sweet of steamed millet couscous served with curdled or soured milk and sugar, eaten as a celebratory dessert or light meal.

A pungent Gambian stew of dried or smoked fish simmered with onions into a savoury sauce served over rice.

A West African leafy greens stew slow-cooked in red palm oil with smoked fish and dried crayfish, served as a thick sauce over rice.

A Senegambian dish of marinated whole fish deep-fried until crisp and topped with a tangy sauce of slow-cooked caramelized onions sharpened with vinegar or lime.

A Gambian okra 'draw' soup thickened to a glossy, mucilaginous body, built on red palm oil with smoked and fresh fish and served over rice.

A rich Gambian okra 'draw' soup built on red palm oil with dried fish and bitter leaves, slippery in texture and served over rice.

A dense, crusty Senegambian baguette-style loaf made from a blend of wheat and millet (or maize/sorghum) flour and baked daily in wood-fired clay ovens.

A Senegalese one-pot dish in which broken parboiled rice is cooked in a deeply reduced tomato-fish broth alongside whole herb-stuffed fish and a medley of root vegetables, finished with an intentional scorched bottom crust called xoon.

A deep crimson West African infusion made from dried hibiscus (roselle) calyces, sweetened and served chilled as a refreshing soft drink.

Marinated grilled chicken braised in a tangy sauce of slow-cooked caramelised onions, lemon (or lime), and mustard, served over rice.