Kedjenou, Ivory Coast. Olympic Food Challenge

So then, the final recipe in the allotted challenge time. I have managed 15 out of the 19 dishes (this was cooked yesterday) that I  planned to make. The remaining 4 will be blogged soon so I can complete the set and help contribute towards the 204 countries.
Technically I failed the challenge but life gets in the way unfortunately. The challenge itself was a stroke of madness/genius and over the course of it I have found some little beauties of dishes that I will be making again and I still have four yet to make and discover.

This dish is the one that started it all and it is one of the little beauties that make it all worth it, Our fearless leader Ewan Mitchell made this dish during the World Cup of 2010 and is credited with being the inspiration for this epic Olympic Challenge.

Read his blog about this dish here: Tonights Menu - Kedjenou

This dish is Kedjenou and it originates from the Ivory Coast, a member of the IOC since 1964 and have only two silvers in 1984 to celebrate, they achieved none in London but this is worth of Gold any day.

This is a one pot dish and excels in it simplicity. Chop every thing up, stick in a pot, put in an oven for 3 hours, eat.

Ingredients
4 whole chicken legs (leg and thigh)
1 Aubergine, peeled and diced

2 Tomatoes, seeded and chopped

2 Onions, thinly sliced

2 Hot chili peppers, chopped 

2 cloves of Garlic, minced

thumb sized piece of fresh Ginger, grated.

1 teaspoon of fresh thyme

1 Bay Leaf

Salt and pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 190C/325°F. 

Add all the ingredients to a large oven-proof pot with a tight-fitting lid. 

Cover the pot with one or two layers of tinfoil and place the lid on top of the foil.

Place the pot in the oven and bake for 2 to 3 hours. Remove the pot from the oven occasionally and shake it to keep the chicken from sticking.

Remove the pot from the oven. Let it rest for about 10 minutes
Serve with rice


Verdict
It really is that simple and holy mackerel does it pay for itself over and over. The vegetables break down and form a beautiful sauce. The chicken....well the chicken.....it melts. I picked up a leg and the meat fell off leaving the bone clean. Soft, juicy, tender, epic. Word of warning though pick your chillis carefully, I picked up some random red chillis which I suspect were Scotch Bonnets judging from the heat.....ouch.