Booking the Cooks: Omar’s Jamaican Stew Chicken

It would appear that good things, and indeed quite often great things, can come to those who wait. Once upon a time in 1992, Stevie Wonder told the British soul singer Omar that they would one day work together. Some 14 years later, that day arrived and they recorded Stevie's Feeling You in London for Omar's Sing If You Want It album. Since then, Omar has made quite a marvelous habit of collaborating with other outstanding artists.

His latest long player The Man features guest appearances from The Scratch Professor and Soul II Soul's vocalist Caron Wheeler. But when I ask him of what exact highlight he has from all the other acts he's been lucky enough to work with, he speaks about his time with the late, but very great Syreeta Wright. "She was my favourite female singer. When I heard her sing the song that I had written for us, I burst into tears."

Omar's touring schedule at the moment reads like a world travel mag. But during down time, he likes to cook up an old family favourite, a Jamaican dish called Stew Chicken. If you need some Caribbean spice in your life, then we highly recommend it!


INGREDIENTS
10 pieces of skinned chicken. Divide that up how you will between leg, thigh and breast
The juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon salt
1 decent chicken stock cube
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
100 ml of sunflower oil
3 thinly sliced spring onions
2 chopped mid sized onions
1 chopped Scotch bonnet chili. Make sure to remove the seeds
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 red pepper, seeds removed, chopped
1 green pepper seeds removed, chopped
1 heaped tablespoon of butter
Cooked basmati rice, to serve

METHOD
Drop the chicken pieces in a big salad bowl and smother them in the lemon juice. Then sprinkle with salt, chicken stock cube and black pepper. Using your hands, rub the seasonings in to give the meat a good flavour, then cover and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes minimum or overnight, if you have time. Heat the vegetable oil in a large, deep flame-proof casserole with a lid until really hot.

Remove the chicken from the seasoning, reserving the seasoning mix. Add a few pieces of chicken to the oil and fry gently for about five minutes on each side until the chicken is browned. Don’t overcrowd the pan as they won’t cook colour properly.

With a slotted spoon, remove the chicken from the casserole and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces. Carefully pour out most of the oil, leaving just two spoonfuls in the casserole.

Add the spring onions, onions, chilli, garlic and peppers and stir briefly to take out the crunch from them. Return the chicken to the casserole along with the seasoning mixture. Pour in a half-a-litre of water, add the butter, bring to the boil and then reduce the heat.

Cover and simmer for 15 minutes until the liquid is reduced to a rich sauce and the chicken is cooked through.

Omar plays The Sugar Club, Dublin, on March 28th.
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