Poulet Yassa Recipe (Senegalese Chicken Dish)

Poulet Yassa also known as Yassa Chicken is senegalese chicken dish with vegetables

When I first heard of poulet yassa, I was really skeptical of the amount of onion required in marinade and sauce. I mean, seriously ... four onions? Good grief!

I’m glad I took some faith and tried it, as this chicken is delicious and the onions totally make the dish.

When you do this, you will want to plan a head because the chicken needs to be marinated in an onion-lemon-vinegar mixture for at least 8 hours, or overnight. Lemon juice and vinegar are completely removed from the onions and then boiled into a completely delicious sauce.

As if by magic, some bows just melt in the sauce, and other pieces remain intact, to give the dish a bit of texture. It's so, so good

I served mine with fluffy Basmati rice, but the side of roasted leafy greens (spinach, cabbage etc.) would be beautiful.

I wanted to do sweet potatoes, but it turned out that my husband hated sweet potatoes. He also let me know that he told me several times, but I still create them…. so I obviously didn't listen to him. Oops.

The best way to cut chicken breasts into two thin pieces is to place your hand on the top of your chest, then cut your other hand across your chest while keeping the blade parallel to the work surface. Alternatively, you can prick the chicken breasts off into one large flat piece, then cut it in the middle.

In both cases, the idea is to get the chicken breasts into two thin pieces rather than one big piece. It bakes faster and more evenly in this way.

Poulet Yassa Recipe:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup peanut oil (or vegetable oil)

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half horizontally to make two thin fillets

4 large yellow onions, roughly chopped

8 Tbsp. lemon juice

8 Tbsp. cider vinegar

1 bay leaf

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. Dijon or stone-ground mustard

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional)

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. peanut or vegetable oil

Instructions:

Combine all of the ingredients except for the last 2 Tbsp. of oil in a large zip-close bag and allow chicken to marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight. When ready to cook, remove the chicken from the bag, but save the marinade.

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat and add 2 Tbsp. peanut or vegetable oil once hot. Sauté chicken for two minutes on each side. Remove, and set aside on a plate.

Use a slotted spoon to scoop the onions out of the marinade bag, add to the hot pan and cook for 5 minutes. Add the remaining marinade and bring to a boil. Cook at a boil for ten minutes.

Continue to cook the marinade until it becomes a sauce (about 20 minutes). Reduce heat to medium, then return the chicken and drippings to the sauce, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through (about another 10-15 minutes). Serve with rice.