A Taste of Senegal

Part of the fun of being a Private Chef is that I am able to change my menus everyday. When you cook for the same four food critics day in and day out, it is important to keep things interesting. There are of course family favorites that I must keep in perpetual rotation, but I am also encouraged to be creative and come up with "something different". In true Beyond The Kitchen Wall style, I have been on a quest to introduce my clients to food traditions from the more obscure corners of the planet. I'm not saying that Western Africa is in any way obscure, but sadly its grand cuisine is not well known outside of certain circles. I had a lot of fun putting a Senegalese inspired menu together.

Filling a great mansion on Chicago's North Shore with the exotic scents of Western Africa made me smile. Here was food from a people and a culture that did not know such great wealth, but here was food that was fit for royalty. For a while, it was as if the whole kitchen had been moved to the center of Dakar, Senegal's Capital City. When dinner was served, the enthusiasm was palpable. For one evening, a small group of Americans discussed Senegal.
Here is the main course that I served that evening. Try it for yourself, and spend the evening discussing Africa and Her People.

Senegalese Chicken Yassa with
Cinnamon Scented Brown Basmati Rice
Serves 4 to 6

For the chicken:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 large onions, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon habanero chile, minced, or more to taste
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon peanut oil
1/2 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste
1 stewing chicken, cut into 10 pieces (legs, thighs, wings, breasts cut in half)
1/2 cup pimento-stuffed olives
2 large carrots, thinly sliced
1 large red pepper, thinly sliced

In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, habanero chile, Dijon mustard, ginger, 1/4 cup peanut oil, water, and salt and pepper. Place the chicken pieces and onions in a large sealable plastic bag, pour marinade over. Seal bag, toss together, and marinate in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

After 3 hours, remove chicken pieces from marinade. Strain onions from marinade and reserve both separately. Place heavy pot over medium heat. When hot, add 1 tablespoon peanut oil, and add chicken pieces. Do not crowd the pan. Brown the chicken on all sides, and set aside.
Add drained onions, and cook until they begin to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Stir onions often. Once onions begin to caramelize, add remaining ingredients plus the reserved marinade.
Bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes.

Add chicken pieces back to the pot along with any juices that may have accumulated. Cover, reduce heat to low, and gently simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on how tough your chicken is. After 1 hour, check seasoning, and adjust if needed.
Remove from heat and let rest while you prepare the rice.

For the rice:
2 cups brown Basmati rice
3 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste

Place a medium pot over high heat. Add oil and 1 cup of the rice. Stir constantly until rice begins to toast. Continue stirring, once rice begins to pop like popcorn, add remaining rice and all of the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, stir once more, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 40 minutes. Turn off heat and let rest for 5 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.

To serve:
Place a bed of rice on a large platter. Spoon some of the sauce and vegetables from the chicken over the rice. Arrange the chicken pieces over the sauce, and top with more sauce and vegetables. May be garnished with chopped parsley and lemon zest if you wish, but this is not traditional.

To learn more about the nation of Senegal, click HERE.

The Art of Confit

The Fall is my favorite time of year to cook. It is the season when I pull out all of my favorite Classic French recipes and techniques. The smell of hearty soups and stews just makes my heart sing. This is also the time of year that I start to think about making Confit. There is something magical about this ancient process. Simple poultry or pork is turned into one of the world's culinary treasures. The process is simple, but does require some time if the final product is to achieve its full potential.

Confit is traditionally made using goose. This tough, fatty beast makes an absolutely glorious confit. Duck is also traditional, as well as pork. Today in the Southwest of France, confit is made with chicken, turkey, and just about anything that can be preserved.

So what exactly is confit? The Larousse Gastronomique defines it as "a piece of pork, goose, duck, or turkey cooked in its own fat and stored in a pot, covered in the same fat to preserve it."
It is one of the oldest forms of food preservation that was developed in Southwest France to keep meat for the long, lean months after the fall harvest/slaughter.

Today, with modern refrigeration, one would think that making confit would be obsolete. That would be true except for one very important fact; confit is incredible. It is hard to describe this transformation. Let's just say that fatty, tough meat is transformed into a rich, concentrated, succulent taste sensation. The confit process gently removes water from the meat, thereby concentrating its flavors. The process also tenderizes the meat to an almost melting consistency. There is nothing else like it!

Traditionally, only the leg, thigh, and wings of poultry are used for confit as these are the tougher cuts. The breast does not take as well to confit as it tends to dry out. With pork, the tougher cuts are also used, shoulder, ribs, etc...

The method for making confit is quite simple. If you have not made your own confit, you should try it at least once to experience the magic of this process. Of course today you can buy confit in cryovac packages, but it is not the same.

Here is a simple method for making your own confit of duck. Don't be scared, just try it.

3 5 pound ducks

1/4 cup kosher or pickling salt

1 bunch fresh thyme

3 bay leaves

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

The first thing to do is to butcher the ducks. Remove the leg/thigh portion, wings, breasts, and any giblets. Trim all of the fat and skin from the carcass.

Pack up the breasts and giblets to use another day. All we are interested in is the fat, leg/thigh, and wings. Also, save the trimmed carcass to make duck stock. Nothing is wasted in French Cuisine!

Place all of the trimmed fat and skin into a large pot. Add cold water to cover and bring to a boil. We are rendering the fat and the water will help in this process. After all of the water evaporates, you will be left with pure fat. Lower the heat to medium and continue to cook until the skin pieces begin to turn brown. Let them get golden and crispy. Turn off heat, allow to cool for 20 minutes, and drain off fat. Be Careful, the fat is still quite hot. Put fat into a bowl and refrigerate. Save the duck cracklings, they are great in salads or with eggs. Nothing is wasted in French Cuisine!

While the fat is rendering, place the leg/thigh pieces and wings into a nonreactive container. Sprinkle with the salt, and add the seasonings. Mix together. Refrigerate overnight.

The next day, remove duck pieces and fat from the refrigerator. Place fat into a large pot being careful not to scrape in any of the liquid or sediment that may be at the bottom of the bowl. Place fat over low heat to melt.

Rinse duck pieces under running water to remove the salt and seasonings. Pat very dry with paper towels. Place duck into melted fat and increase heat until fat begins to just simmer. Maintain the fat at this gentle simmer. Cook the duck for 2 to 3 hours depending on how large the pieces are and how tough the duck.

To check if the duck is ready, poke with a thin knife or a skewer. If the knife goes in easily and the meat seems meltingly tender, the duck is ready. Be careful not to overcook or the duck will fall apart into the fat.

Transfer the duck pieces to a storage container and strain the fat over. The confit may now be used in your recipes, or enjoyed by itself . Confit begins to develop its full flavor character after about 1 month of storage.