Senegalese Yassa Chicken

Yassa chicken or Poulet Yassa is a Senegalese dish made of sautéed chicken that has been marinated in a mixture of garlic, lemon juice, dijon mustard, and spices. When making this dish, first make sure you have a lot of onions to use. This recipe would be incomplete without the flavorful addition of onions.

INGREDIENTS

• Chicken
• White onions
• 10 lemons
• Red nokoss
• Mustard
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• Bouquet garni
  
  PREPARATION

1. Marinate the chicken a day ahead of time for the best results.
2. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry, then cut it into pieces. Peel and finely chop the onions. Zest and juice the lemons.
3. Place two-thirds of the red nokoss in a bowl and mix in the mustard and lemon zest. Liberally brush the chicken pieces with the marinade. Pour half the lemon juice over the chicken (reserve the rest of the juice for cooking) and mix in the chopped onion. Season with salt and pepper, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
4. On the day of serving, separate the chicken from the onion (don’t throw out the marinade). Cook the chicken pieces in a frying pan with half the olive oil until browned on both sides. Set aside.
5. Add the remaining oil to the same fry pan the chicken was cooked in, add the onion, and gently sweat over medium heat for 15 minutes.
6. Mix in the reserved lemon juice, nokoss, bouquet garni, and marinade. Adjust the seasoning if required.
7. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Add the chicken pieces and 1 cup water, then cover and simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes.
8. Serve the chicken on a large platter with white rice.