Chicken Yassa
A popular West African chicken dish.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 470kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lemon juice only
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves finely sliced and chopped
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper or more for extra spice
- salt and ground black pepper to season
- 2 large onions thinly sliced
- 8 chicken thighs skinless and boneless
- 400 ml chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- pitted green olives optional
- parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Mix the lemon juice, Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, garlic, cayenne pepper, salt and ground black pepper together to form the marinade.
- Place the chicken and onions in a bowl, cover with the marinade and mix together so that everything is coated. Cover the bowl with cling film and place in a fridge to marinate for 2 to 4 hours.
- When the marinating stage is complete, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan, remove the chicken thighs from the marinade and fry 2-3 (depending on the size) at a time to seal and brown the chicken all over.
- When the chicken thighs are sealed all over transfer to a casserole dish.
- Fry the onion and marinade in the frying pan until the onion start to soften. Cover the chicken in the casserole dish with the onions
- Use some of the stock to de-glaze the pan and add to the casserole dish before pouring in the remaining stock and adding the bay leaves.
- Cover the casserole dish with foil place the lid on top and cook in a preheated fan oven at 190°C for 50 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the olives and allow to cook for another 5 minutes.
- This dish can be served with rice or mashed potato.
Notes
Freezing tip: You can freeze the Chicken Yassa in individual sized portions to defrost and heat up at a later date.
Calories are per portion and for the ingredients listed; not for any accompaniments. The calories are an approximation and will depend on the size of the ingredient e.g. potato chosen.
Thank you for another tasty and easy recipe. I did not marinade as long as suggested, as I forgot the recipe needed this when I came to prepare it for our evening meal. However, it was still very tasty and will add to my ‘cook again’ list and will remember to marinade longer next time.
Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback on this recipe. We’re pleased that you enjoyed it and will be making it again.
Bob really enjoyed this dish, I found the mustard a little overpowering however it didn’t put me off. There were a LOT of onions! I prepared early giving most of the day for the chicken to be in the marinade. Another dish you can prepare if using to entertain, so convenient. Thank you
Thank your for your feedback. It’s interesting to hear that you found the mustard a little overpowering as I love this recipe, but I don’t like mustard; did you use Dijon or another type of mustard? I do like onions though!
I marinated this overnight and then cooked it in the slow-cooker. It turned out really well and had quite a subtle flavour. I will certainly cook it again.
Thank you for your feedback and for letting us know that it can be cooked in a slow-cooker.