Sunday, February 21, 2010

Senegalese Yassa, My Way


When we moved into our current neighborhood, Poppa Trix and I were super excited to see that there was a Senegalese restaurant within walking distance of our house. All the cab drivers eat there, which  in my book is usually a very good sign.  Unfortunately, it turns out that if you're not from Senegal and/or a cab driver yourself, your meal may take upwards of an hour to eventually find its meandering way onto your table.

Now, that wouldn't be so bad if the food were stellar. But the kitchen always seems to have just run out of the very thing I want, and the dishes they do have are literally swimming in deep rivers of palm oil. After several attempts to love this place, I realized that I had no choice: If I want Senegalese food, I'm just going to have to make it myself.

I love my own healthy version of one of Senegal's classic dishes, yassa. Usually done with chicken (poulet yassa)  or fish (poisson yassa), mine is vegetarian, and uses seitan as the protein, but I can envision chick peas, kidney beans, or black eyed peas as alternate, equally yummy,  proteins.

Senegalese Veggie Yassa
 
Like many African stew-type dishes, these amounts are approximate and should serve as a guide.
5 or so tbsp peanut oil
1 package seitan, drained and chopped
3-4 large onions, thinly sliced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Cider vinegar (the same quantity as lemon juice)
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
hot chili peppers, chopped - make it as hot as you like
cayenne or red pepper flakes
1-2 bay leaves
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
veggie bouillon cube
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cabbage, chopped 
4-5 carrots, cut into discs
2-3 potatoes, cubed

Whisk together the lemon, cider vinegar, mustard, soy sauce and a tbsp of peanut oil. (If you were making poulet yassa, this would be your marinade.) Meanwhile, saute the onions and chilies in the peanut oil until the onions soften.  Add the garlic and all the other veggies, saute a few minutes more. Add the mustard sauce, and stir to coat. Add the bouillon cube, the seitan,  and just enough water to barely cover (you could also use veggie stock here, but I'm giving a nod to the ubiquitous Maggi cube found so often in African cuisine.) Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer until the veggies are tender. Taste the stock and add a pinch of cayenne or hot pepper if it's not spicy enough, and salt to taste.  I love this dish with polenta, but couscous would be a perfect choice. 

The heat of the chilies with the bitter lemon and tart mustard is a unique - and somewhat addictive - flavor.







29 comments:

  1. Okay, so my only encounter with Senegal was the cab driver I had in Baltimore once! We were nearly killed when he stopped behind a car and two men got out to yell at each other, one had a weapon and then pushed the other one on top of my cab--not kidding! My little driver thought it best to stand still. However, I demanded my driver run through the stop sign as I crunched down in the back seat for protection and began to cry. (Scary, chills.) So the Senegal dish--it brought back this whole memory for me. I DO love the flavors here and, totally love you opted using seitan--a perfect choice in my opinion! I think I am far enough removed from my "Senegal" memory to give this a try!

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  2. I have had my issues with African food (abyssynian) ... the restaurants aren't as clean as they could be... on the other hand, eating raw meat with that great bread maybe wasn't such a great idea. Sooo, your post made me laugh. The recipe did not... really good and easily adapted for us meat eaters. Great story and recipe, Trix!

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  3. Thats so interesting, made me chuckle.

    Sengalese food, more specifically African food has still to make an debut in Scotland, so like you, I too will have to make my own. This is a lovely introduction.

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  4. oh I hear you so many restaurants are like that great stew lol Rebecca

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  5. This looks so delicious! I've been looking for good recipes to incorporate seitan.

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  6. this looks awesome. love the carrots, cabbage and potatoes so healthy!

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  7. I HATE it when you give a restaurant try after try after try - wanting do much for the relationship to work - alas - our philosophy if it's almost there, we'll give it one more try - if not - cut bait.
    This recipe sounds delicious and I love first commentator Kelly's story too. ~Mary

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  8. My gosh...I'll rather go hungry if I have to wait for so long :P Home cooked is still the best! Love your dish....looks healthy & delicious.

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  9. Will definitely have to go homemade to enjoy Sengalese dining. This looks delicious and will be a totally new experience for me. Should be a perfect solar cooked meal. Thanks for sharing.

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  10. Been meaning to try Sengalese food. There is one just roung the corner. Need to try it myself. I can use this for one of my meatless challenge!

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  11. African restaurants have been on the rise here, some are hits actually...and some are misses. But nice to know you can still travel at home tastebud wisr

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  12. Senegalese food? Wow that's new to me. You're so innovative, Trix. I would never have come up with a dish like that. It looks really flavourful and hearty!

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  13. I have never had Senegalese food. You got me there! Very brave of you to attempt cooking it too and it looks like you succeeded!

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  14. That looks fantastic ..so colorful and yumm.

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  15. Definitely not a Senegalese restaruant for miles in this area, so thanks for sharing your recipe so I can try it at home!

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  16. If your napkin goes missing, I have NOTHING to do with it ;o)


    Oh, and this looks like quite the delicious dish, too!!!

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  17. Sounds full of flavors, and yours sounds healthier than something swimming in palm oil for sure!

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  18. I have found that following the cab drivers, at least in Houston, leads to food that is (to my palate) spicy beyond belief. So I think cooking it your way at home is the way to go. This deeply saddens David, who would gladly go toe to toe with the natives when it comes to heat. So you've created Baltigal or Senemore or something. Beautiful dish!

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  19. The dish does look very tasty. Maybe you should memorize a few of the cab driver's names and say that they recommended that you eat there. That may buy you some quicker service.

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  20. the flavors is this must be incredible - the heat, tartness and the spices all sound like I would love it - think I will use the basis of this for a simmered fish dish....what do you think?

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  21. I have never had any kind of Senegalese specialties, I would love to try this dish - it sounds excellent, fantastic flavors and I love the spice!

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  22. Entertaining post! It looks as though you did a great job of re-creating (and improving upon) the restaurant dishes.

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  23. Hey Trix, I am so making this tonight! Thanks for bringing African cuisine to my Bulgarian kitchen!!!

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  24. I love seitan! And everything about African cuisine! I'm so happy it's 100% veggie too. I always find myself having to vegetarianize lots of African dishes; this one is already done for me! :) I really can't wait to have a go at this- It looks divine!

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  25. This is a type of food that I know nothing about--but I'd like to learn. Sounds delicious, and the suggested beans would be great too.

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  26. I haven't had Senegalese food yet. I am anxious to try it.

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  27. How do you even find out about these restaurants and types of food??? everytime I read your blog I say how much I learn - I just can't believe it's every single time! haha

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  28. I would love to try another African dish. They're actually good and interesting. Thanks for the recipe. :)

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