1. Dissolve the salt in the water.

COOKING TOOLS

2. Prepare the vegetables as follows: Peel and dice both the calabreze and cassava into 1 inch pieces. Wash, top and tail the okra pods, making sure you have no hard pods. Quarter the turnips and sweet potatoes. Peel the carrots and cut into 1 inch rounds. Cut the eggplants into 1 inch slices. Cut the cabbage into 8 pieces. Mince the onions.

3. Prepare the sea bass by cleaning and cut into 1-1/2 inch thick steaks, score the steaks with a sharp knife.

4. Prepare the stuffing for the sea bass steaks by placing the parsley, garlic, bird chili and scallions in a food processor and pulsing until they form a thick paste.

5. When the paste is ready poke the stuffing into the slits, previously made by scoring the sea bass steaks.

6. Heat the oil in a large stockpot and brown the onion. Add the smoked fish, tomato paste and 1/4 cup of the salted water. When the onion has browned, place the sea bass in the pot with the onion mixture and cook for 5 minutes.

7. Add the remaining water. Bring to the boil, cover and lower the heat.

8. Add the vegetables as follows: calabaza, sweet cassava, turnips, cabbage, sweet potatoes, eggplants, carrots, okra and habanero chili.

9. Remove and reserve the habanero chili when the thiebou dienn is spicy enough to taste.

10. Cook for 20 minutes.

11. Remove the sea bass steaks, keeping them whole, and place them on a serving platter. Cover with a little of the cooking liquid and keep warm.

12. Cook the thiebou dienn for a further 15 minutes, thereafter removing the vegetables and arranging them on a platter. Keep warm.

13. Reserve 2 cups of the liquid to make the sauces.

14. Bring the remaining liquid to the boil, add the rice, cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is done.

15. While the rice is cooking, pulverize the habanero chili and add it to 1 cup of the reserved liquid. Heat, stirring occasionally, and place it in a sauce dish.

16. Heat the remaining cup of liquid and place in a separate sauce dish.

17. When ready to serve, mound the rice on one platter and the fish and vegetables on another. Alternatively, place the rice in a deep dish, arrange the vegetables and fish on top, and eat Senegalese-style with your right hand (only!) or with a large spoon.

18. Add, whichever sauce you prefer, the one with or without the habanero chili according to your taste.

Materials are reprinted with permission from Michael Tracey and Africhef.com.This recipe is an excerpt from the book "African Recipes: Real Food From Africa" by Michael Tracey. Buy the book online or download the e-version at Africhef.com.