How To Make The Perfect Chicken Yassa – Recipe | Felicity Cloake's How To Make The Perfect…

If you’re already acquainted pinch this Senegalese favourite, you don’t request maine to person you of its charms. Indeed, truthful bully is it that, though nan crockery is autochthonal to nan confederate region of Casamance, it’s celebrated connected menus arsenic acold afield arsenic neighbouring Gambia. If poulet yassa is caller to you, however, you person a existent dainty successful store: a braised crockery of chickenhearted marinated successful saccharine onions, tangy citrus and lukewarm chilli, it tastes, arsenic Lerato Umah-Shaylor puts it truthful beautifully, for illustration “sunshine connected a plate” – and certainly, arsenic my parents observed erstwhile I introduced them to it, acold much than nan sum of its parts. Simple ingredients, analyzable flavours – and a guaranteed crowdpleaser.

The meat

Alexa Weibel, who adapted cook Pierre Thiam’s recipe from The Fonio Cookbook for nan New York Times, says that though Thiam uses chickenhearted legs, “in confederate Senegal, wherever nan crockery originated, you mightiness beryllium served different chickenhearted parts, food yassa aliases moreover lamb yassa”.

Start pinch a full chicken, past associated it, advises nutrient writer Jessica Harris. All thumbnail images by Felicity Cloake.

Legs are nan astir celebrated cut, pinch Umah-Shaylor besides suggesting thighs successful her book Africana, though some Gabonese cook and nutrient writer Anto Cocagne and food historiographer and writer Jessica B Harris start pinch full birds, and associated them. I deliberation nan juiciness of legs makes them nan superior choice, but spell pinch immoderate you prefer, leaving nan tegument connected and nan bones in, ideally – nan tegument will thief support nan soma moist and render fat into nan sauce, while nan bones supply flavour. (Note that, if you don’t eat meat, this condiment besides useful good pinch tofu aliases roast squash.)

The marinade

The communal facet present is citrus juice, beryllium that citrus aliases lime, though I for illustration nan richer, fruitier tang of nan latter. Cocagne and Umah-Shaylor put successful nan zest arsenic well, a bully thought that I’m going to prevention for nan sauce, because I don’t deliberation nan flavour really transfers to nan chickenhearted while it’s marinating. Most recipes besides adhd chopped aliases pureed bulb (though Thiam and Dakar-born Khadim Mbamba, the cook down London’s Little Baobab, some for illustration nan greenish outpouring bulb variety). Other imaginable additions see thyme, bay and parsley, nary of which my testers and I tin really prime up successful nan nutrient – for illustration nan citrus zest, then, specified aromatics are besides amended deployed later successful nan process, arsenic are Mbamba and Cocagne’s ginger and mustard.

The second makes a Senegalese reddish capsicum paste, nokoss, to spell successful nan marinade, which arsenic good arsenic nan ingredients already mentioned features chilli, reddish onion, tomato, celery and soumbala powder, which is made from nan fermented seeds of nan néré, aliases African locust legume tree. I fishy peppers and tomatoes successful nan UK are much watery and little intensely flavoured than those successful Senegal, because my type turns retired noticeably paler and much liquid than nan 1 successful nan photograph, and sadly doesn’t adhd overmuch flavour erstwhile deployed successful specified a mini quantity.

Anto Cocagne’s chickenhearted yassa has ‘a marmalade-like flavour of citrus zest’.

Mbamba’s greenish capsicum type is acold punchier, but I’ve elected to support things very elemental so and instrumentality to salt, citrus and onion, and nan aforesaid ingredients that flavour nan sauce. Rather than adding each nan onions to nan marinade, arsenic galore recipes suggest, I’ve kept astir of them backmost to velocity up nan browning process erstwhile it comes to making nan sauce.

The cooking

Weibel explains that “the cooking method is flexible: nan chickenhearted develops nan champion steaming char erstwhile grilled, but will still beryllium delicious seared successful a grill cookware aliases cast-iron skillet”. The statement online seems to beryllium that while yassa traditionally involves barbecued meat, these days location cooks are much apt to fry it indoors, though you could roast it, too, arsenic Mbamba recommends, pinch likewise delicious results. Indeed, roasting aliases utilizing a grill cookware are some awesome options, arsenic is Umah-Shaylor’s overhead grill, but I’ve chosen to fry them, arsenic recommended by Cocagne’s book Saka Saka and Amethyst Ganaway’s recipe for Serious Eats, to render arsenic overmuch fat, and truthful flavour, arsenic imaginable from nan skins for usage successful nan sauce. (My only caveat pinch roasting nan nutrient is that it doesn’t time off nan chickenhearted rather arsenic juicy arsenic frying, grilling, aliases griddling to colour, earlier braising it pinch nan sauce. Whichever method you choose, move immoderate fat aliases juice that’s escaped nan chickenhearted into nan condiment erstwhile you adhd nan nutrient to it.)

The sauce

Onions and citrus, pinch a backbone of chilli heat, are nan building blocks present – beautiful overmuch everything other is an optional other – truthful it’s basal to return nan clip to brownish nan onions properly, truthful they connection a caramelised opposition to nan tangy juice. My testers and I besides really for illustration nan sweetness Harris’ that carrots bring to proceeding (though you whitethorn for illustration to usage reddish capsicum aliases Thiam’s greenish version, though they will, of course, beryllium little sweet), arsenic good arsenic nan saltiness of nan olives that she and Mbamba some popular in.

Khadim Mbamba pops olives into his sauce.

Olives and dijon mustard, nan probable bequest of 3 hundreds of years of assemblage business by France, are not obligatory, but nan flavours do activity really well. Orléans-based caterer Mamy Coco told food blogger and writer Bernard Laurance successful 2014 that successful her autochthonal Casamance, poulet yassa tends to beryllium little citrussy and mustardy than nan versions now recovered successful places specified arsenic Dakar, concluding that it was frankincense “for you to judge nan level of acidity that champion pleases your tastebuds”. I’d echo this, while urging you not to beryllium excessively shy; this look sings astatine afloat volume.

We emotion nan almost marmalade-like flavour that nan citrus zest gives Cocagne’s dish, and nan complementary warmth of thyme and ginger pinch nan obligatory chilli. Which assortment you use, and successful what quantity, depends likewise connected nan pleasance capsaicin brings your tastebuds. I for illustration nan fruitiness of scotch bonnet, pricked truthful it mildly infuses nan condiment pinch its power (and tin beryllium whipped retired erstwhile it hits your circumstantial saccharine hotspot), but immoderate reddish chilli will do, depending connected readiness and preference. If you’re not keen connected chilli heat, usage a milder assortment and spell large connected achromatic capsicum alternatively – Thiam adds 2 full teaspoons of nan worldly to his version.

If you’ve barbecued aliases roasted nan chicken, you mightiness want to dilute nan condiment pinch chickenhearted stock, arsenic Umah-Shaylor and Ganaway recommend, but if you’ve fried it, it should beryllium rich | capable without. (That said, though nary of nan recipes I effort calls for it, a dash of Maggi seasoning is simply a communal addition, truthful a pinch of MSG wouldn’t spell amiss, if you consciousness truthful moved.)

Pierre Thiam adds each of 2 teaspoons of crushed achromatic capsicum to his version.

To eat

Rice is nan astir communal serving suggestion, but couscous is mentioned by Ganaway, “creamy mashed potatoes and greenish beans” by Umah-Shaylor and fluffy, nutty fonio, an ancient assortment of millet that’s a staple successful West Africa, by almost everyone else. Erica Turner tells readers of America’s Test Kitchen that “braised hibiscus leaves (widely eaten successful Senegal) are a accepted accompaniment, but cooked spinach seasoned pinch citrus juice is simply a good alternative”.

Perfect chickenhearted yassa

This tin beryllium made up of time, because it reheats very good indeed.

Prep 20 min
Marinate 4 hr+
Cook 55 min
Serves 4

2 lemons, aliases 3 limes
Fine brackish and achromatic pepper
4 skin-on and bone-in chickenhearted legs
4 mean onions
2 tbsp groundnut oil, aliases different neutral lipid
2 carrots, thinly sliced astatine an angle, aliases 1 reddish pepper, thinly sliced
1 tbsp grated caller ginger
1 tbsp thyme leaves, aliases 1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 scotch bonnet, aliases different lukewarm reddish chilli pepper
80g greenish olives

Finely grate nan zest of half nan citrus fruit, group nan zest aside, past juice each nan consequence into a vessel and operation successful a spoon of salt. Cut a fewer heavy slashes successful nan tegument broadside of nan chicken, past put it successful a suitable instrumentality pinch nan lime juice substance and swipe it successful well.

Finely portion 1 of nan onions, adhd this to nan instrumentality and operation again, past screen and refrigerate for 4 to 8 hours.

Put nan lipid successful a ample frying cookware for which you person a lid, past group it complete a medium-high flame.

Lift nan chickenhearted from its marinade (don’t propulsion nan marinade away), pat it dry, past fry, successful batches if necessary, conscionable until good browned connected each sides. Thinly portion nan remaining onions (I usage a mandoline).

Set speech nan chickenhearted and move down nan power nether nan cookware slightly. Add nan sliced onions, season, and time off to navigator undisturbed for 4 minutes, aliases until they’re opening to brown.

Stir, past cook, stirring regularly, for 12-15 minutes, until nan onions are soft and golden.

Add nan onions from nan marinade (save nan citrussy liquid), past operation successful nan carrots, ginger, thyme and grated zest, and navigator for different mates of minutes.

Stir successful nan mustard, marinade liquid and 125ml water, past nestle nan chickenhearted pieces into nan the bulb mix. Add nan chilli and olives, and bring to a simmer.

Cover, move down nan power and time off to braise for 30-40 minutes, until nan nutrient is cooked through; assistance retired and discard nan chilli halfway through, unless you for illustration it hot.

Check nan seasoning, set if necessary, past service pinch rice, fonio, millet aliases couscous.

• Poulet yassa: what’s nan concealed to greatness? Should I person barbecued nan meat, and tin nan aforesaid method beryllium utilized for different proteins?