Riz Gras

Riz gras is rice simmered in a tomato-based sauce with vegetables and meat, and it is a common main dish in Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso's official language is French, and the dish carries a French name that translates roughly as "fatty rice." Recipes differ from household to household, so the balance of rice, meat, vegetables and sauce is never exactly the same.

What it really is

The base is rice, cooked slowly in a sauce built from tomato paste and onion fried in vegetable oil. Carrot and cabbage go into the pot, and the meat cooks in the same sauce. The rice is cooked in the sauce itself rather than apart from it, so the grains absorb the tomato and oil as they simmer and come out soft, coloured and fully coated. Sauce, meat, vegetables and rice are cooked together as one dish, with the rice at the centre.

How it's served

• Hot, straight from the pot, as a full main meal.
• Plated with the rice at the base and the meat and vegetables spooned over or mixed through.
• On its own, since the rice, meat and vegetables together make a complete dish.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the rice and the meat, for example "Riz gras with beef." Recipes vary, so say which meat is served.
• List the vegetables that come standard: carrot and cabbage, with tomato and onion in the sauce.
• Ask which oil the kitchen uses. Peanut oil is a declarable allergen, so state the oil on the menu or in the allergen notes.
• If the kitchen adds stock cubes or seasoning blends, check them for celery, mustard and sulphites.
• Do not label it vegetarian, since it contains meat. Name the meat clearly so guests with dietary rules can decide.