Nigerian Spiced Jollof Rice with Fish

Step 1

About 6 hours before cooking, marinate your fish. Combine finely chopped or minced garlic, ginger and oil in a small bowl. Crumble in ¼ of a vegetable stock cube and mix to combine. Rub the marinade on fish fillets, cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for approx. 5-6 hours, or overnight.

Step 2

For the Jollof Rice, place the tomatoes, tomato purée, chilli, onion, 1/2 pepper, garlic and curry powder in a blender or food processor and whizz until smooth.

Step 3

In a large pan with a matching lid, heat the oil on medium-high heat. Add the remaining chopped peppers, and the tomato sauce you made in the previous step. Bring to the boil. Add the rice and vegetable stock. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes. Take the lid off and stir every couple of minutes to prevent the rice from sticking, until the rice is cooked through. Take off the heat and leave to sit with the lid on for another 10 minutes, whilst you prepare the fish.

Step 4

Dab the skin side of the seabass with some paper towel (to ensure crispy skin). Lightly brush the base of a non-stick frying pan with oil and heat over medium-high. Place the sea bass fillets in the pan skin-side down. As soon as they hit the pan, press down on the fillets with a spatula or a fish slice to prevent curling.

Step 5

Fry for 3–4 minutes until skins crisp up. Gently turn the fish fillets over and continue cooking for another minute. The flesh of your seabass should be opaque.

Step 6

Just before serving, stir in chopped coriander into the rice. Divide the jollof rice between plates, and top with pan-fired bass. In West Africa, this meal is often served with a side of coleslaw!