Yassa Senegalese Lemon Chicken Food

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.

YASSA (SENEGALESE LEMON CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Combine first 5 ingredients; divide evenly between 2 (1-gallon) heavy-duty zip-loc plastic bags. Divide chicken evenly between bags; seal bags. Toss each bag well to coat. Refrigerate 3 hours, turning bags occasionally.
• Preheat broiler.
• Remove chicken from bags, reserving marinade. Place chicken on broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 6 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.
• Strain marinade through a colander over a bowl, reserving marinade and onion. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 5 minutes. Add reserved marinade; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute; add chicken, carrot, broth, olives, water, mustard, and Habanero pepper. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour or until chicken is done. Discard Habanero pepper. 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.

SENGALESE CHICKEN YASSA

Steps:

• In a large non-reactive bowl, prepare marinade by mixing the lemon juice, onions, salt, pepper, minced chile, and 4 tablespoons of the peanut oil. Place the chicken pieces in the marinade, making sure that they are all well covered. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the chicken to marinate for at least 3 hours in the refrigerator.
• Preheat the broiler. Remove the chicken pieces, reserving the marinade and onions, and place the chicken in a shallow pan. Broil the chicken until it is lightly browned on both sides. Remove the onions from the marinade. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a flameproof 5-quart casserole or Dutch oven and cook the onions slowly until tender and translucent. Add the reserved marinade. When the liquid is thoroughly heated, add the chicken pieces, pricked chile, olives, carrots, mustard, and water. When the dish has reached the desired degree of hotness, remove the chile and reserve (it can be served separately to the chile heads). Stir to mix well, then bring the yassa slowly to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve over Plain White Rice.
• Bring the water to a boil in medium saucepan. Stir in the remaining ingredients, cover, and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Remove the rice from the heat and allow it to stand for 5 minutes, or until all the water has been absorbed. Fluff with a fork and serve hot.
• Yield: 4 servings

SENEGALESE BRAISED CHICKEN WITH ONIONS AND LIME (CHICKEN YASSA)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together 3 tablespoons of oil, the lime zest, habanero, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Transfer 2 teaspoons of the mixture to a small bowl and set aside. To the remaining oil-zest mixture, whisk in the lime juice, bouillon and ¼ cup water. Add the chicken and onions and toss. Cover and let marinate at room temperature for 1 hour or refrigerate up to 2 hours, stirring once.
• Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Set a colander over a large bowl and strain the onions, reserving both the marinade and the onions.
• In a large Dutch oven over medium-high, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil until barely smoking. Add the chicken, skin side down, and cook until well browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate and pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon of the fat. Set the pot over medium heat and stir in the onions and ¼ cup water, scraping up any browned bits. Cover and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are softened and lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Stir the reserved marinade into the onions. Return the chicken, skin side up, to the pot, nestling the pieces in the sauce, then pour in any accumulated juices. Reduce to medium-low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until a skewer inserted in the thickest part of the meat meets no resistance, about 25 minutes.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a serving platter or shallow bowl. Off heat, stir the reserved oil-zest mixture into the onions, then taste and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the onions and sauce around the chicken and sprinkle with chives.
• Tip: Don't marinate the chicken for longer than two hours; the acidity of the lime juice will soften the meat. Likewise, don't use an uncoated cast-iron pot. The lime's acidity will react with the metal, causing the sauce to taste metallic.

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.