West African-Style Fat Rice

20 minutes prep 55 minutes active cooking 1 hour + 15 minutes total

Makes 6 - 8 servings

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Every rice-eating culture has a “rice with stuff” dish...

a bunch of vegetables and other savory bits cooked with the rice in a single pot. In Burkina Faso they call it riz gras, the French term for fat rice, and it combines eggplant, chiles, and other vegetables in a spicy, West African-style tomato sauce. Naturally, we used Fatou Ouattara’s Akadi Spicy Sauce for our version of the dish. Ouattara moved to Portland from the Cote d'Ivoire, and her sauce gives the riz gras a distinctly West African flavor.

Fatou Ouattara came to Portland from Bouaké, Cote D’Ivoire...

and opened her restaurant Akadi in 2018. Her flavorful sauces reflect her time cooking with grandmother.

What You'll Need

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeno chile, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small eggplant, cut into bite-sized pieces (about 2 cups)
1 medium sweet potato, cut into bite-sized pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup of Novo Frantoio extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons of Italian fine sea salt
1 jar Akadi Spicy Sauce
1 cup of Koda Farms Kokuho Rose Heirloom White Rice
3 cups of vegetable broth or water

Equipment

Dutch oven or large saucepan
1 Chef's Knife
1 Cutting Board
Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons

What you'll have to do

Step 1

In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, cook the onion, jalapeno, garlic, eggplant, and sweet potato in 1/4 cup olive oil and 2 teaspoons salt over medium heat until the eggplant turns translucent, about 25 minutes.

Step 2

Add the jar of Akadi sauce, 1 cup rice, and 3 cups broth (or water), stir well, reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook for about 30 minutes or until the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the liquid. Don’t stir if you’re hoping for a browned, slightly crispy layer of rice on the bottom of the pot.