Chicken piri-piri
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Easy
- September 2015

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Serves 6
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Hands-on time 20 min, oven time 1 hour, plus marinating
Diana Henry reminisces about the dishes that take her back to her childhood; this spicy chicken recipe brings memories of her time in Portugal.
- Calories
- 199kcals
- Fat
- 11.2g (2.3g saturated)
- Protein
- 22g
- Carbohydrates
- 2g (1.8g sugars)
- Fibre
- 1.4g
- Salt
- 0.7g
Ingredients
- 1 small red pepper
- 50ml olive oil
- 4 red chillies
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tsp dried oregano or chopped fresh oregano leaves
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Juice 2 lemons
- 1/2 tsp caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp sea salt flakes
- 6 free-range, skin-on, bone-in chicken legs (drumsticks and thighs attached)
Method
- Heat the oven 190°C/170°C fan/ gas 5. Halve and deseed the pepper, brush with a little of the oil, put in a tin and roast until soft (about 25 minutes). Peel the skin if it comes off easily; leave on if it doesn’t. Chop roughly, then crush in a pestle and mortar (see tip). Remove the pepper.
- Deseed the chillies, chop finely and put in the mortar with the garlic, oregano and chilli flakes. Pound to a paste, then add the vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, salt, remaining oil and crushed pepper.
- Put the chicken into a broad shallow dish and pour on most of the marinade. Turn to coat, cover with cling film and put in the fridge for 4 hours (or overnight ideally), turning a couple of times. Bring to room temperature before cooking.
- Heat the grill to high and arrange the chicken on the grill pan, skin-side up. Put the grill pan 10cm from the heat and grill for 12 minutes per side, reducing the heat to medium halfway through. Baste a few times with the juices or a little reserved marinade.
- Move the chicken another 10cm from the heat and grill for 5 minutes on each side. It should be cooked through (make sure there are no traces of pink), sizzling and golden.
- Serve immediately with a lettuce, cucumber and tomato salad and fried potatoes or coarse rustic bread.
delicious. tips
No pestle and mortar? You can blend the marinade.
Make this up to 48 hours ahead. Keep in a sealed container in the fridge.
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