Ever tried Senegalese cuisine? We certainly hadn’t! how2heroes had the pleasure of spending the morning with the fabulous Marie-Claude Mendy of Teranga restaurant in Boston’s South End. What an educational segment- we had NO IDEA how many other prominent food cultures influenced Senegalese cuisine.

Marie-Claude Mendy, chef-owner of Teranga

Owner Marie-Claude Mendy was our host for the morning. She is an ambitious woman. Aside from running Teranga (meaning “hospitality” in Wolof), which is Boston’s first Senegalese restaurant,  Marie works full-time at a French asset management company. After our shoot, Marie was hopping straight to her job in finance, then planned on heading back to the restaurant for dinner service! That’s dedication.

Teranga's beautiful, Senegalese-inspired interior

  

Stuffing the Fataya dough with salmon filling

Marie-Claude made Fataya, a Senegalese street food favorite. Almost like an empanada, the Fataya is stuffed with salmon, tomato paste and spices, then fried. Marie-Claude noted that most major food cultures have a dish similar to the Fataya (i.e. Indian Samosas, Latin Empanadas).

Mise-en-place for Fataya Dip

Marie-Claude explained that the ingredients and flavors of Senegalese cuisine are due largely to French colonization of Senegal. In the early 20th century, Senegalese soldiers were sent to Vietnam (also colonized by the French), and some returned to Senegal with Vietnamese wives. The Fataya Dip (shown above) is composed of sriracha, mayonnaise, and seasonings. Not what you’d expect of African cuisine! Marie-Claude mentioned that most popular appetizers on the menu are Nems (small Vietnamese spring rolls).

Marie-Claude with the finished dish

Fataya with dip

To accompany the fabulous food, Marie-Claude concocted some fabulous juice beverages for the Teranga menu. The most interesting was a drink made with bouye juice, a fruit from the baobab tree. We tried the fruit in powdered form. It tasted acidic and unique, but looked like dried milk powder. Marie-Claude mixes the bouye with vanilla sugar, pineapple juice and orange flower water. She says that the bouye fruit has as more calcium than cow’s milk, and more vitamin C than orange juice! Hmmm…could this fruit be the next superfood craze?

Garlic paste, the base ingredient of many Senegalese dishes

Teranga's House Dressing, Balsamic & Garlic

Next Marie-Claude made Teranga’s House Dressing which is to die for! The key ingredient in this dressing (and many Senegalese dishes) is garlic paste, made simply from a pureé of garlic, scallions, onion, and sometimes bell pepper. The Balsamic & Garlic Dressing contains Dijon mustard, another example of French influence on Senegalese cuisine.

The crew, devouring Marie-Claude's fresh Fataya & Dip

We couldn’t wait to dive in and try Marie-Claude’s dishes (the most painful part of a shoot is waiting for the still photographer to finish photographing the final dish)! Watch for these videos to go live on how2heroes.com in the coming weeks! In the meantime, try a dish with a similar concept as the Fataya (but from another culture), in Epigmenio Guzman’s Plantain Empanadas from Tu Y Yo restaurant, featuring fine Mexican cuisine.

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