Piri Piri chicken
Submitted by sarah hyland
Juicy chicken thighs griddle until crispy, then bake in fiery piri piri sauce with charred peppers. This Portuguese-inspired dish brings smokehouse heat balanced by fresh basil and lemon.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
30 minREADY
40 minPiri piri sauce is all about the burn and the brightness. Red chilies bring the heat, while lemon zest and white wine vinegar add tang that cuts through the richness of the chicken.
Slashed chicken thighs get seared skin-side down on a griddle until golden, then nestle into the sauce with sweet charred peppers. The oven does the rest, letting the chicken absorb all that spicy, garlicky goodness.
Fresh basil in the sauce is unexpected but essential. It adds an herbal sweetness that makes this more complex than your average hot sauce chicken.
Kitchen Tips
- Slash the meat so the marinade penetrates deeper and the chicken cooks more evenly.
- Use a mix of mild and hot peppers if you want to control the heat level.
- Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes after baking so the juices redistribute.
- Serve with crusty bread to soak up every drop of that sauce.
Ingredients
For the chicken
4 large chicken thighs, skin on and bone in
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
For the Piri Piri sauce
½ a red onion
2 cloves of garlic
1-2 birds-eye chillies
1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
1 lemon
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
A bunch of fresh basil
Directions
Chicken: Put the chicken thighs on a plastic chopping board, skin side down, and slash the meat on each one a few times. Drizzle with olive oil and season, then put on the griddle pan that is heating up, skin side down. Cook until golden underneath, then turn over.
Piri Piri sauce: Peel and roughly chop the red onion half and add to the liquidizer with 2 peeled cloves of garlic. Add the chillies (stalks removed), 1 tablespoon of paprika, the zest of 1 lemon and juice of½ a lemon. Add 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, a good pinch of salt and pepper, the bunch of basil and a swig of water. Blitz until smooth.
Chicken: Slice the peppers into strips and add to the griddle pan. Turn the heat down to medium and keep moving the peppers around. Pour the piri piri sauce into a snug-fitting roasting tray. Lay the peppers on top and put aside. Add the chicken to the roasting tray with the sauce. Scatter over the sprigs of thyme, then put the tray into the middle of the oven. Move the chicken up to the top shelf to cook for around 10 minutes, or until cooked through.
To serve: Get the tray of chicken out of the oven, sprinkle over a few coriander leaves and take straight to the table.
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