Yassa (Chicken with Lemon and Onions)

Yassa is one of the more popular dishes out of Senegal. Probably because the ingredients are readily available in most places (no smelly-but-oh-so-yummy, difficult-to-get-by-customs ingredients!) and it can be assembled relatively quickly once you get the pieces in place (marinating the chicken beforehand).

One of its drawbacks, however, is the peeling and slicing of what will seem like a lifetime supply of onions. So I was very pleased to find a solution on page 16 of the newest addition to my cookbook collection: Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater. Clever, that British chap! See below.

Yassa
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 8 pieces of chicken (e.g. 4 thighs and 4 legs)
• 165 ml (2/3 cup) lemon juice ~2 to 3 lemons
• 85 ml (1/3 cup) lime juice ~2 to 3 limes
• 4 to 5 big onions
• 50 g of butter (~3 tablespoons)
• 1 liter (4 cups) of water
• 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced in thin rounds
• 1 small tomato, cut in 4
• For seasoning: 1 onion, 1 clove of garlic, 2 to 3 chilies, salt and pepper
• 8 to 10 olives
• Steamed white rice
• Garnish: 1 lemon and/or 1 lime, sliced thinly

Preparation

Advance prep required: Add lemon and lime juice, a pinch of salt and pepper to the chicken. Cover and refrigerate. Marinating the chicken for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight, is critical. I have tried to cut corners and the result does show, especially on non-free range poultry.

1. Preheat oven to 200°C
2. Remove chicken from the fridge and let it return to room temperature (~30 mns)
3. Peel the onions and cut in half
4. Place onions in a baking/roasting dish and break pieces of butter on them
5. Add a pinch of salt and pepper
6. Roast until tender and soft (~30 mns). Turn halfway through roasting time when one side is brown. Note: Baking the onions is one way to avoid the river of tears that come from having to slice so many onions. The idea comes one of my cookbooks (Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater). He came up with this idea while trying to solve the tears problem inherent in making french onion soup.
7. When onions are ready, slice with fork and knife into small strips
8. Simultaneously (or before or after the onions roasting), remove chicken from marinade (save marinade) and grill the chicken. The goal here is to get nice browning. The chicken will be cooked again so no need for full cooking right now.
9. Warm up a large pot and add onions with remaining butter from roasting pan for 3 mns of additional caramelising
10. Add 1 liter of water to (dirty!) roasting pan, release whatever stuck to the pan with a wooden spoon and pour in the onion pot
11. Add the marinade you set aside earlier, the grilled chicken, the carrots and tomato
12. In mixer, combine elements for seasoning (see ingredients list) to make a paste and add to stew pot
13. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let it simmer for 30 to 45 mns (depending on toughness of chicken)
14. Add olives and season to taste: a bit of salt, a touch of lemon juice, etc...
15. Simmer for another 10 mns and serve with steamed white rice, with slices of lemon and/or lime for garnish