West-Africa

Yassa is a spicy and flavorful food, including onions and usually chicken, fish, lamb, and goat meat. The food originated from Senegal. I tried to find as original and old French recipes as possible on how to make it but in the end, I still made my version of this dish. I have always been fascinated by African food. When I prepared some African dishes, I realized that they are delicious and give a completely different taste experience than what we are used to in Europe.

Preparation time: 24 hours marinating the chicken, 1.5 hours preparation
Level: Medium
Serves: four

Ingredients:
4-6 chicken thighs or four chicken legs
Marinade:
Freshly squeezed juice of 4 lemons
5 tablespoons of wine vinegar
3 tbsp dijon mustard
50 ml of peanut oil
1 teaspoon of ginger powder
1 tablespoon of chicken bouillon powder or one bouillon cube
1.5 teaspoons of sea salt
2 teaspoons of black pepper
1 habanero chili or 3-4 tablespoons of Habanero chili extract
6 medium garlic cloves finely chopped
8 larger onions cut in half and sliced
3 bay leaves
To prepare the chicken:
2-3 tablespoons of peanut oil
1 smaller can of green olives (optional)
Fresh parsley for garnish

Preparation:

1. Peel the onions, cut them in half, and slice them into thin slices.
2. Crush the garlic, and mix freshly squeezed lemon juice, mustard, wine vinegar, peanut oil, ginger powder, salt, black pepper, and stock powder in a bowl.
3. Finely chop the habanero chili and add to the marinade or use habanero extract.
4. Add onions and chicken pieces. Press the mixture with your hands to release the juice from the onions better. Use rubber gloves just in case, as the habanero is relatively sharp. Add bay leaves.
5. Marinate the chicken overnight either in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
6. The next day, heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan, and remove the chicken pieces from the marinade so that too many onions do not come with it.
7. Brown the chicken for about 5 minutes on each side and set aside to wait.
8. Sift the onions out of the marinade and fry them in a chicken browning pan on medium heat until they become golden brown, add the chicken pieces and pour over the marinade.
9. Turn the heat to low and simmer the chicken for about 1 hour until the chicken becomes completely soft.
10. If desired, add green olives and simmer for another 10 minutes.
11. Serve with basmati rice and garnish with a sprig of fresh parsley
    Ready!!