Yassa

Ingredients

Marinade

• 1.5 kgbone-in chicken pieces, thighs, drumsticks and quarters, skin on
• 1.2 kgonions (about 8 large), sliced into thin half moons
• Juice of 6 lemons (about 250 ml)
• 3 tbspDijon mustard
• 8garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 tbspgroundnut oil
• 2stock cubes, crumbled, or 1 tbsp nététou
• 2 tspblack pepper
• 2bay leaves
• 1 tspsalt

To cook

• 3 tbspgroundnut oil
• 1whole Scotch bonnet, unbroken
• 2 tbspDijon mustard
• 300 mlwater
• 60 ggreen olives, pitted (optional)
• 1 tbspred wine vinegar (optional)

To serve

• 500 gbroken or long-grain rice, steamed
• 1lime, in wedges

Directions

1. Mix the sliced onions with the lemon juice, mustard, garlic, oil, stock cubes, pepper, bay and salt in a large bowl. Bury the chicken pieces in it, cover, and refrigerate at least 4 hours and ideally overnight.
2. The volume of onion should look absurd, roughly equal in weight to the chicken. It collapses to about a quarter of its raw volume and becomes the sauce; halving it gives a sharp, thin yassa.
3. Lift the chicken out and scrape most of the onion back into the bowl. Pat the pieces fairly dry, or they will steam rather than colour.
4. Grill the chicken over charcoal, or under a hot grill, for 8–10 minutes a side until well charred at the edges and about three quarters cooked. This smoke is central to yassa and pan-frying alone is a compromise.
5. Heat the oil in a wide heavy pot and tip in the marinated onions with all their liquid. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for 30–35 minutes.
6. The onions must go far past soft: they should collapse, lose their water, then start to catch and caramelise to a deep gold. This slow cooking is where the sweetness that balances the lemon comes from. Rushing it leaves the sauce raw and acidic.
7. Stir in the extra mustard and the water, lay the grilled chicken and its resting juices on top, add the whole Scotch bonnet and the olives, cover and simmer 20–25 minutes until the chicken is falling from the bone.
8. Remove the Scotch bonnet whole. Taste and balance: it should be sour, sweet, savoury and faintly bitter from the mustard all at once. Add the vinegar if it needs sharpening, more water if it has gone jammy.
9. Serve the chicken on steamed rice with the onion sauce piled over the top and lime wedges alongside.

Technique

• Yassa comes from the Casamance in southern Senegal, Diola country, and travelled north to Dakar and across West Africa from there.
• Lemon and onion are the whole architecture. Both go in raw and cook down together; the marinade is not discarded but becomes the sauce, so use lemons you would be happy to drink the juice of.
• Mustard is not a French intrusion, it is standard in Senegalese yassa and the Dijon-style mustard sold in Dakar is used generously.
• Grill first, then braise. Skipping the grill gives a perfectly edible stew, but the charred edges against the sweet-sour onion is the flavour Senegalese eaters are looking for.

Substitutions

• Yassa poisson is made the same way with whole fish or thick fish steaks; grill them and add them only for the last 8 minutes so they do not break up.
• No charcoal? Sear the chicken hard in a dry cast-iron pan, or grill it in the oven at 240°C (475°F) for 15 minutes, turning once.
• Nététou can replace the stock cubes for a more traditional and deeper savoury note.

Variations

• Yassa poisson, the coastal version with grilled fish.
• Yassa guinaar with olives and mustard, the Dakar restaurant standard.
• A vegetarian yassa made with the same onion sauce over grilled sweet potato and tofu, now common in city kitchens.

History

Borrowed from Casamance across the southern border, where lime, onion and mustard were absorbed into local cooking during the colonial period.

Frequently asked questions

What is Yassa?

Yassa is a main from Gambia: chicken marinated in lime, onion and mustard, grilled then stewed. Borrowed from Casamance across the southern border, where lime, onion and mustard were absorbed into local cooking during the colonial period.

How long does Yassa take to make?

Yassa takes 25 min plus 4 hr marinating of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Yassa?

Yes, within limits. Yassa poisson is made the same way with whole fish or thick fish steaks; grill them and add them only for the last 8 minutes so they do not break up. No charcoal? Sear the chicken hard in a dry cast-iron pan, or grill it in the oven at 240°C (475°F) for 15 minutes, turning once. Nététou can replace the stock cubes for a more traditional and deeper savoury note.

What is the most important thing to get right in Yassa?

Lift the chicken out and scrape most of the onion back into the bowl. Pat the pieces fairly dry, or they will steam rather than colour.