Senegalese

Wolof, Serer and Diola communities fished the Atlantic and farmed millet for centuries before French colonisation. Saint-Louis, the first French settlement, is credited with thieboudienne in the nineteenth century, built on imported broken rice when local grain ran short. Peanuts became the colonial cash crop and gave mafé its base. Casamance in the south contributed yassa with its lemons and onions. Mustard, baguettes and coffee stayed after independence in 1960. Senegalese restaurants in Paris and New York carried the cuisine abroad earlier and further than most West African food.

Rice is the centre of lunch, cooked in the braising liquid of fish or meat so it carries the whole dish. Onions are used by the kilo and cooked slowly to sweetness. Lemon, mustard and chilli give sharpness; fermented dried fish and sea snail give depth. Vegetables are cooked whole in the broth and shared out. Meals are eaten from one large platter, by hand or spoon, with etiquette about staying in your own section.