Jerk Chicken

Jerk Chicken

A wet jerk paste: scotch bonnet chillies, garlic, ginger, spring onions, thyme, allspice (whole or ground), brown sugar, soy sauce, lime, oil, salt and pepper, pureed in a blender. The chicken (bone-in skin-on thighs and drumsticks, or spatchcocked whole bird) marinates for 12 hours minimum. Slow-grilled over indirect heat with a pile of pimento wood chips or allspice berries on the coals for the signature smoke; alternatively, an oven-bake at 180°C with a final blast under the grill, supplemented with allspice in the marinade.

Jamaican 13 hours 5 minutes Serves4
Yassa Spice-Rubbed Grilled Chicken

Yassa Spice-Rubbed Grilled Chicken

Yassa is one of the foundational dishes of Senegalese cooking, born in the Casamance region in the south of the country and carried by the Wolof and Joola diaspora across West Africa and beyond. At its heart it is a study in three things: acidity, alliums and smoke. Chicken is rubbed with a spice mix and marinated for hours in lemon juice, Dijon mustard, garlic and a heap of sliced onions, then charred over fire so the marinade caramelises in patches on the skin. The onions, meanwhile, are cooked low and slow in the leftover marinade with a little stock until they collapse into a glossy, tangy sauce that is both sweet and sharp. It is not a fiercely spicy dish, though a Scotch bonnet usually rides along in the pot for backbone, and the flavour profile is closer to a French-North African pickle than to the chilli-heavy stews further east. Difficulty is moderate: the cooking itself is easy, but yassa rewards patience at two stages, the marinade and the onion reduction. Serve over plain white rice or attieke so the sauce has somewhere to go.

Senegalese 13 hours 15 minutes Serves4