Sierra Leone | Shwen Shwen Beef Stew with Jollof Rice

CLICK HERE FOR THE STEW RECIPE

CLICK HERE FOR THE JOLLOF RICE RECIPE

By now, I’ve prepared meals from several African countries and it is becoming challenging to find unique dishes to prepare in the remaining African countries. I found this stew recipe (along with a jollof rice recipe) that listed, as an ingredient, a pepper blend containing things I was unfamiliar with but could order online and decided it was suitably different from the other African dishes that I’ve prepared.

I’m not sure if this is something 100% from Sierra Leone since it is described as a Sierre Leone style stew. Jollof rice is from Sierra Leone so I guess I got one part right.

Because I have a small kitchen and I also had to prepare a separate dinner for my husband, I had to make this in stages.

First, I had to prepare the spices.

I tried to find a premade West African Pepper Blend that contained all the ingredients listed in the linked recipe but I could not. So, I had to order Grains of Paradise and Cubeb pepper to make my own West African Pepper Blend. (I had black and white peppercorns and allspice berries on hand.) I toasted them all and then, because I don’t like whole peppercorns in anything, ground the whole blend up with my mortar and pestle. Toasting everything was easy. Grinding it all up, by hand, took longer than I expected and was not the most fun I’d ever had in my life.

I also had to order something called Grains of Selim for the stew and the Jollof rice. They’re odd looking and taste kind of like mentholated pepper. Apparently, they’re also used in some kind of coffee beverage and have a bunch of medicinal uses but those things will probably go unexplored by me until I finish this project.

Anyway, after toasting the spices, I chopped everything up that needed to be chopped up, made a ginger/garlic/habanero paste, and measured out all the spices in advance. I had to chop up a LOT of onions but, luckily, I have a vegetable chopper that made the process easier than chopping everything by hand. I love that thing so much.

After that I started simmering the onions for the stew in one pan while browning the beef in a different pan. They are meant to be cooked separately, until they reach a certain point of doneness, and then they’re combined.

Once the onions and beef reached the stage of doneness in the recipe, I stirred them together and added the remaining ingredients. Then I set the pot of stew to simmer, on low, while I got to work on the Jollof rice. (See link above for the recipe and instructions for preparing the rice.)

Would I make this again?

I don’t know.

The beef was very tender and wonderfully flavorful. The Jollof rice was also flavorful and mixed well with the beef. Overall, it was a delicious meal and I will have no problem eating the leftovers. (Well, some may end up in the freezer because it made a good amount!) It was a lot of time in the kitchen and a lot of maneuvering and planning so I could have the time and space to also make a separate meal for my husband. I’d eat it again; just not sure I’d take the time to make it again.

I do not know why the dish in the links is so red compared to mine I followed the recipes exactly. Maybe the chef’s paprika is brighter than mine? Or her tomatoes are redder? Whatever the color, it was delicious. :)