Piri Piri Chicken - Recipe

This is a fail-safe dish to serve at a dinner party. Impressive, yet relatively simple, and very tasty. It was somewhat of a prophesy that I decided to serve Piri Piri Chicken on the night Portugal won Eurovision for the first time. We love to get together with friends and watch the show whilst criticising and laughing with/at our European friends. Europe: for fabulous food, amazing costumes, and somewhat dubious music...

 

An advantage of this dish is that you can make it in advance, and then just stick it in the oven 45 minutes before you are ready to eat. It doesn't matter if it stays in a bit longer, in case you forget about it whilst downing Strawberry Daiquiris, and Prosecco, and enjoying some lighter European snacks such as olives and Padron peppers.

 

Have a go and let me know if you think this Piri Piri Chicken is a winner...

 

 

(Please excuse the rather drunken photography)

 

Piri Piri Chicken

Piri Piri Chicken


Prep Time: 15 mins plus marinating
Cook Time: 25 mins plus 45 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 peppers (red or yellow)
50 ml olive or rapeseed oil
4 red chillies, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp chilli flakes
2 lemons, juice only
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 chicken thighs

Method:

Firstly, prepare the peppers. Heat the oven to 190 C. Slice the peppers into thirds and drizzle generously with oil. Roast for about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the marinade. Using a blender (or a mortar and pestle if you wish to be more authentic), blend the oil, red chillies, garlic, oregano, paprika and chilli flakes to a smooth paste. Then add in the lemon juice, red wine vinegar, sugar, and salt and pepper if you wish.
When the peppers are roasted, you can remove the skin if it comes off easily but I usually leave it on. Roughly chop the peppers and add them to the blended mixture, then blitz it all again until smooth.

Place the chicken thighs in an oven-proof dish and pour over the marinade. Allow to infuse for as long as you wish - an hour is enough, but overnight is even better.

The chicken takes about 45 minutes in the oven at 190 C, so allow enough time for it to cook through. Turn it twice during cooking (if you remember) finishing with the skin side up so it get's nice and crispy before you serve with fries, salad, and/or crusty bread.