Image: John H. White · Public domain
A West African Cook Book
- Year
- 1971
- Era
- 20th century
- Origin
- West Africa · Africa
- Language
- English
- Category
- Africa
A West African Cook Book, compiled by Ellen Gibson Wilson and issued by J. B. Lippincott in 1971, gathers recipes and culinary lore from across the region, encompassing Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, and neighbouring countries. Among the earlier English-language surveys of West African cookery prepared for an international readership, it documents staple ingredients, market traditions, and home preparations at a moment of post-independence cultural reassessment.
Cooking from this book
Jollof Rice
Signature dishNo single dish speaks more eloquently for West Africa than jollof rice, and Ellen Gibson Wilson's pioneering survey gave English-language readers one of their earliest serious introductions to it. A one-pot preparation of rice simmered with tomatoes, peppers, onions and aromatic seasonings, often enriched with meat or fish, it appears in countless regional guises from Senegal to Nigeria. Wilson's book situates the dish within the wider culinary geography she set out to map, making it emblematic of her project.
An editorial note on a dish associated with this book, written for The Coquinist. It is not a reproduction of the book's recipe.
