Perfect piri piri chicken

Perfect piri piri chicken

Serve with chips and lemon wedges if you want to go Portuguese, though it’s also very nice indeed with rice to soak up the extra sauce. Or, in Mendes’s style, freshly fried potato crisps – I have it on reliable authority that a bag from the supermarket also does the trick.

Prep 15 min, plus marinating

Cook 40 min

Serves 4

4 chicken legs (thigh and drumstick), skin on, bone in

For the marinade

Juice of ½ lemon

4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2 tsp flaky salt

For the piri piri sauce

2-4 red African or Thai bird’s eye chillies, to taste

2 plump garlic cloves, peeled

Juice of 1 lemon

1½ tsp flaky salt

2 tsp sweet smoked paprika

50ml olive oil

1 tbsp port or 1 tsp brown sugar (optional)

 Lemon, garlic and salt on a chopping board

The marinade is a simple mix of lemon juice, garlic and salt that’s rubbed into the chicken first. Photograph: Dan Matthews for the Guardian

Whisk together the lemon juice and garlic for the marinade. Put the chicken in a roasting tin just big enough to hold it, and pour the garlicky juice all over it, turning to ensure it’s well coated. Sprinkle with the salt, cover and leave at room temperature (unless it’s a very hot day) for an hour.

Meanwhile, roughly chop two chillies (gloves are advisable) and the garlic, add the lemon juice and salt, and whizz to a puree (or mash well in a mortar). Whisk in the paprika and oil. Taste, adding more chilli if you think it needs it, and the port or sugar if you’d prefer it a bit sweeter.

read more at : www.theguardian.com