Senegal Yassa Recipes

CHICKEN YASSA

Steps:

• In a food processer, blitz together the roughly chopped onions, garlic, spring onion, pepper, ginger, chilli, parsley and a good pinch of salt. Add the juice of one lemon and the mustard, and blitz again.
• Put the marinade in a bowl with the chicken legs and thinly sliced onion, toss and leave to marinate for at least couple of hours (or overnight if you like).
• Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Remove the chicken from the marinade, brushing off any excess, put onto a baking tray and roast for 45 minutes or until deep golden and cooked through.
• While the chicken is cooking, heat the oil in a large wide pan over a high heat, then stir in the marinade and onions. Add the vinegar, bay, and some salt and pepper, and cook over a medium-high heat for 35-40 minutes, stirring regularly, or until the onions are cooked through, melting and caramelised. Stir in the remaining lemon juice.
• Add the roasted chicken and olives (if using) to the pan, cover and cook for 5 minutes on a low heat to let the flavours combine. Sprinke over a little extra parsley, if you like, and serve with rice, couscous or vermicelli.

SENEGAL YASSA

Steps:

• Add chicken, onions, vinegar, juice from the limes, pepper and cayenne to a large bowl. Mix well and marinate for 30 minutes.
• Take the chicken & onions out of the bowl, reserve the marinade. Saute the chicken & onion until golden brown on all sides.
• Add marinade and 1 cup of water to the pan. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is tender. Serve over rice.

SENEGALESE CHICKEN YASSA

Steps:

• In a large nonreactive bowl, prepare a marinade with the lemon juice, onions, salt, pepper, minced chile, and the 1/4 cup peanut oil. Place the chicken pieces in the marinade, making sure that they are all well covered, and allow them to marinate for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator. Preheat the broiler. Remove the chicken pieces, reserving the marinade, and place them in a shallow roasting pan. Broil them until they are lightly browned on both sides. Remove the onions from the marinade. Cook them slowly in the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a flameproof 3-quart casserole or dutch oven until tender and translucent. Add the remaining marinade and heat through.
• When the liquid is thoroughly heated, add the broiled chicken pieces, the pricked chile, olives, carrots, mustard, and water. Stir to mix well, then bring the yassa slowly to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve hot over white rice.

CHICKEN YASSA

Steps:

• Whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, mustard, lemon zest, chile, black pepper, cayenne and salt to taste in a large nonreactive bowl or other container. Stir in the onions and bay leaf. Add the chicken to the marinade and toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, turning the chicken in the marinade if it's not completely covered, at least 6 hours or overnight.
• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade; reserve the marinade. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot, add the chicken to the pot and sear until golden brown on both sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
• Add the allspice to the pot and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Spoon the solids from the marinade into the pot and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the reserved liquid and chicken, making sure to spoon the sauce over the chicken to coat. Add about 1 cup of water to the pot. Cover and cook over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaf.
• Place the chicken on a serving platter. Spoon the onions and sauce from the pan over the chicken. (Simmer the sauce, uncovered, for 5 minutes on medium heat if there is too much liquid; it should be a rich sauce.) Season with salt and pepper and serve with the rice.

POULET YASSA (CHICKEN YASSA) FROM AFRICA

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients (except the optional vegetables), the more onions the better, and allow chicken to marinate in a glass dish in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.
• Remove chicken from the marinade, but save the marinade.
• Cook according to one of the following methods.
• Cooking method 1: Grill chicken over a charcoal fire (or bake it in a hot oven) until chicken is lightly browned but not done.
• Cooking method 2: Sauté chicken for a few minutes on each side in hot oil in a frypan.
• While chicken is browning: Remove onions from marinade and sauté them in a large saucepan for a few minutes.
• Add remaining marinade and the optional vegetables and bring to a slow boil, cooking the marinade into a sauce.
• Reduce heat.
• Add chicken to the sauce, cover and simmer until chicken is done.
• Serve with Rice, Couscous (couscous with chickpeas and raisins is very good), or Fufu.

CHICKEN YASSA

Steps:

• Prepare a marinade of the lemon juice, onions, salt, pepper, chile, and 4 tablespoons of the peanut oil. Place the chicken pieces in the marinade, be sure they are well coated, and marinate them for at least 2 hours. Preheat the broiler to the highest setting. Remove the chicken pieces and reserve the marinade. Place the chicken pieces on the broiler rack and grill them briefly until they are lightly browned on both sides. Remove the onions from the marinade and sauté them in the remaining oil. Cook them slowly until tender, then add the reserved marinade. When the liquid is thoroughly heated, add the chicken pieces. Add the water and simmer the Yassa over low heat for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Serve hot, over white rice. Yassa can also be made with fish substituted for the chicken. In the Casamance region of Senegal, where the dish originated, Monkey Yassa, is considered a delicacy, but you're on your own there.