Mauritania (Africa) — coming soon

Mauritania is located in the continent of Africa. It has Western Sahara and Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mali and Niger to the east, Burkina Faso to the southeast, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia and Senegal to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.

The capital is Nouakchott.

The official language is Arabic, with Arabic, Fula, Soninke and Wolof as national languages.

The climate is mostly arid due to the northwestern trade winds.

The staple foods are fish, rice, lamb, goat, camel, vegetables, couscous, cheese, coconut, yogurt and much, much more (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritanian_cuisine).

https://www.britannica.com/place/Mauritania

THIEBOUDIENNE (Fish & Vegetable Stew over Rice) (https://edibleun.wordpress.com/2018/12/30/trip-164-mauritania-africa-fish-and-vegetable-stew-over-rice-thieboudienne-north-african-mint-green-tea-millet-crackers/):

• 2 Grouper fillets, cut into chunks and patted dry
• 1 TBSP All-Purpose flour
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• 4 sprigs fresh parsley, leaves only very finely chopped
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
• 1 small eggplant, stem removed, peeled, and cut into 1-inch chunks
•  1 large carrot, peeled and cut into rounds
• 1 sweet potato, peeled, quartered, and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 large russet potato, peeled, quartered, and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 3 C water
• 1 TBSP tomato paste
• 1 large tomato, stem removed and finely chopped
• 1 vegetable bouillon cube, crushed
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 C basmati rice
• ½ large white onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 red chili pepper, left whole
• 1 TBSP butter
• 2 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1 TBSP roasted peanuts, chopped

1. In a large stock pot, place the cut eggplant, carrot, sweet potato, russet potato, and 2 peeled, whole garlic cloves.
2. Cover the vegetables with 3 cups of water and set the pot aside to soak.
3. In a large zip top bag, combine the flour, ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper, ½ tsp salt, finely chopped parsley, and pinch of cayenne pepper.
4. Seal the bag and mix it around to combine.
5. Once mixed, open the bag back up and place the chunks of grouper into the seasoning flour, close the bag, and gently roll the fish portions around until they are lightly but fully coated.
6. Place a large skillet with high sides on medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add 2 TBSP of vegetable oil. When the oil starts to shimmer, remove the fish from the seasoning bag and shake off the excess flour.
7. Gently add the fish to the hot oil in a single layer.
8. Fry the fish until it is well browned and easily comes up from the hot pan, about 1 minute.
9. After 1 minute, if the fish is still sticking to the pan don’t force it up, instead allow it to cook some more until the fish easily releases from the pan. Do this on all four sides of the fish cubes.
10. Once the fish is evenly browned, remove it from the pan and wrap it up in aluminum foil to stay warm and set aside.
11. Add the 1 TBSP of chopped peanuts to the oil and cook for 30 seconds.
12. After 30 seconds, add the butter to the pan and allow it to melt.
13. Once the butter has completely melted, add the chopped ½ onion and chopped 1 clove of garlic to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until the onions are soft. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet while the onions and garlic cook.
14. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the tomato paste, finely chopped tomato, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper, and the crushed vegetable bouillon cube.
15. Once the onions have softened, add this tomato mixture to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes.
16. Once the tomato paste starts to turn a darker, brick red, add the vegetables and the soaking water to the pan.
17. Stir to thoroughly combine.
18. Add the whole chili pepper to the pan and increase the heat to high.
19. Once the water starts to boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 30 minutes.
20. After 30 minutes, add the cooked fish to the pot, cover, and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
21. After 5 minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove all of the vegetables and fish from the pan and place them in a large bowl.
22. Discard the whole chili pepper.
23. Cover the bowl to keep warm and set aside.
24. Pour the liquid from the pan into another container.
25. Measure out 2-1/3 cups of the cooking liquid from that container (add some additional water if there is not enough liquid) and add that back to the pan the vegetables and fish were cooked in.
26. Place the pan back on medium-high heat and bring the liquid to a boil.
27.  Once boiling, add the 1 cup of rice to the pan, stir, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.
28. Once the rice has cooked and absorbed all the liquid, fluff the rice with a fork.
29. To serve, make a bed of the rice on a plate and place the warm fish and vegetables on top.

I used Cod for the fish and it still turned out great!!!

MAURITANIA PUDIM D’AVOCAT (Avocado Pudding) (https://culinary-adventures-with-cam.blogspot.com/2013/05/pudim-davocat-mauritania.html):

• 3 avocados, peeled
• 1 C organic heavy cream
• ¼ C organic granulated sugar
• ¼ C ground almonds

1. Place all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and using a hand blender, blend until smooth.
2. Spoon into individual serving dishes and chill until ready to serve.

Not a huge avocado fan, but this really was tasty!!