Peri-peri chicken is a spicy dish with roots in both Portugal and Africa.
The dish is hearty and satisfying and the preparation time is relatively short.
Below, Chef Bernice Warner from Capsicum Culinary Studio’s Port Elizabeth campus shares her recipe for delicious peri-peri chicken providing recipes for both home-made peri-peri sauce as well as fried bread to accompany the feast. This can be enjoyed by the whole family.
Peri-peri chicken with homemade peri-peri sauce and fried bread. Picture: Supplied
Peri-Peri Chicken
Serves: 2
Ingredients
1 tbsp butter
200g boneless chicken breast fillets – skin removed and cubed
1 garlic clove – crushed
2 tbsp homemade peri-peri sauce
Juice of ½ lemon
125ml cooking cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Garnish with chopped parsley
Serve with pan fried bread (recipe below) or crusty rolls
Method
In a very hot skillet/frying pan, melt the butter and fry the cubed chicken pieces until golden brown on both sides.
Add garlic and peri-peri sauce and allow to fry for another minute or so until fragrant then add the lemon juice and cream.
Season with salt and pepper and allow to simmer for 5 – 7 minutes or until cooked.
Served with fried bread.
Pan fried bread
Ingredients
1 cup of cake flour
5ml baking powder
15ml olive oil
125ml yoghurt
Pinch of salt
Method
Mix all the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients, you might need to add a drop of water if you find the dough to be dry. The dough will need to be rolled out to approximately 1 cm thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut into rounds.
Fry in a medium to high frying pan with some cooking oil until golden on both sides and soft to the touch. Serve with the chicken.
Homemade peri–peri sauce
Ingredients
½ cup white vinegar
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
½ cup olive oil
40ml chili powder
40ml paprika
40ml salt
40ml chopped garlic
10 bird’s eye chilies, finely chopped, keep seeds in for the heat.
Method
Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until well combined. The sauce improves with time and will be fierier after standing for a while.