West African
Basque Chicken Yassa -
A delicious West African lemon-vinegar chicken dish
West African groundnut stew
Jollof Rice
Basque Chicken Yassa
-5 lbs chicken pieces, skinned and washed
-1 1/4 cup of lemon juice
-1/2 cup white wine vinegar
-1/2 cup peanut oil
-3 onions, sliced
-2 sprigs of thyme
-red pepper, to taste
-2 cups water
-4 bay leaves.
Mix the lemon juice, the vinegar, half the oil, the onions and pour on
the chicken pieces in a bowl. Marinate overnight, or longer. Remove the
chicken and the onions from the marinade. Brown the chicken on both
sides. Fry the onions in the remaining oil for a few minutes. Add the
marinade, thyme, hot pepper, water and bay leaves. Simmer on medium heat
for about 10'. Return the chicken to the sauce and cook until done, about
half an hour.
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West African groundnut stew
8 servings
2 Whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1/2" pieces
1 tablespoon Peanut oil
1 medium Onion, chopped
1 Garlic clove, minced
28 ounces Can whole tomatoes, undrained, cut up
15½ ounce Can Green Giant Great Northern Beans undrained
11 ounces Can Green Giant Niblets Golden Sweet Corn, drained
1 Sweet potato, peeled & chopped
¾ cup Water
¼ cup Peanut butter
1 tablespoon Tomato paste
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Chili powder
½ teaspoon Ginger
½ teaspoon Cayenne
3 cups Hot cooked rice
In a 4 quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook chicken in oil until chicken is lightly browned and no longer pink, stirring frequently. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir 3 to 4 minutes or until onion is tender. Add remaining ingredients except rice; mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook 30 minutes or until sweet potato is tender, stirring occasionally. If stew becomes too thick, add additional water. Serve stew over hot rice.
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Jollof Rice
oil for frying
one chicken (and/or a pound or two of stew meat), chopped into bite-sized pieces
one or two onions, finely chopped
salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper (to taste)
Flavoring add-ins (to taste)
chile pepper, chopped
garlic
thyme
bay leaf
ginger
cinnamon
curry powder
two cups chicken broth or chicken stock, or beef broth or beef stock (or Maggi® cubes and water)
two or three ripe tomatoes, chopped
Vegetable add-ins
sweet green pepper (or bell pepper), chopped
string beans or green beans
green peas
carrots, chopped
cabbage, chopped
four cups rice
one small can tomato paste
Meat add-ins
cooked ham
shrimp or prawns (or dried shrimp or dried prawns)
Garnishes
fresh parsley, chopped
cilantro, chopped
lettuce, shredded
hard-boiled egg, sliced
What you do
Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Stir-fry the chicken (or beef) in the oil until it is browned on all sides. Remove the meat from the oil and set aside. Add the onions, the salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and one or two of the flavoring add-ins (if desired) to the skillet and fry the mixture until the onions begin to become tender. Remove the onion mixture from the skillet and set aside with the meat.
In a dutch oven or large covered cooking pot, bring the broth and two cups of water to a simmer. Place the meat and onion mixture into the dutch oven and cover.
In the same skillet used for the meat and onions, stir-fry the tomatoes and one or two of the vegetable add-ins. Continue frying the mixture until the vegetables are partly cooked, then add them to the meat, onions, and broth in the dutch oven.
Again in the same skillet, combine the rice and the tomato paste. Over low heat, stir until the rice is evenly coated with the tomato paste. The rice should end up a pink-orange color. Add the rice to the dutch oven and stir gently.
Cover the dutch oven and cook the mixture over a low heat until the rice is done and the vegetables are tender (maybe half an hour). Stir gently occasionally and check to see that the bottom of the pot does not become completely dry. Add warm water or broth (a quarter cup at a time) as necessary to help rice cook. Adjust seasoning as needed. If desired, add one of the meat add-ins while the dish is cooking. (Shrimp cook very quickly and should not be over-cooked or they will become tough; ham can be added at any time.)
Serve with one or two of the garnishes.
Serve Ginger Beer or Green Tea with Mint with or after the meal.
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