Senegalese Yassa

I received this recipe courtesy of my Senegalese hairdresser Kine, it is absolutely delicious and to quote her… ”If you want to get to a man’s heart through his stomach…this is the way to do it”. I must admit it is extremely scrumptious.

Ingredients:

• one-half cup cooking oil (I prefer extra virgin pure olive oil)
• one chicken, cut into serving-sized pieces
• four (or six, or more) onions, cut up
• eight tablespoons lemon juice
• eight tablespoons cider vinegar
• one bay leaf
• four cloves minced fresh garlic
• two tablespoons Dijon mustard (optional)
• one or two tablespoons Maggi® cubes dissolved in hot water
• chile pepper, cleaned and finely chopped (optional)
• cayenne pepper or red pepper, black pepper, salt (to taste)
• a small cabbage, cut into chunks (optional)
• a few carrots, cut into chunks (optional)

Method:

• Mix all ingredients (except the optional vegetables), the more onions the better, and allow chicken to marinate in a glass dish in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Remove chicken from the marinade, but save the marinade. Cook according to one of the following methods.
• Grill chicken over a charcoal fire (or broil in hot oven) until chicken is lightly browned on the outside but not done.
• While chicken is browning: Remove onions from marinade and sauté them in a large cast iron saucepan for a few minutes. Add remaining marinade and the optional vegetables and bring to a slow boil and cook at a boil for ten minutes. Cook the marinade into a sauce. Reduce heat.
• Add chicken to the sauce, cover and simmer until chicken is done.
• Serve with rice, ugali, couscous or fufu.