Portuguese Piri Piri Sauce

Anyone who’s been reading this blog for a while will know all about my love for all things Portugal!! And what is more Portuguese than Chicken Piri Piri? Served in every restaurant, whether it’s for lunch or dinner, when you’re in the Algarve, you just can’t help but be drawn in by the smell of Piri Piri Sauce everywhere you go! This weekend the weather was due to be (almost) as hot as the Algarve so we decided to dust off the BBQ and have a go at cooking the iconic Chicken Piri Piri dish ourselves.

In our house we have the chilli dilemma – Dan can never have anything hot enough and I don’t like anything too spicy. A bit of heat is fine but I don’t like to burn the roof of my mouth off. This recipe is tending towards the milder side of things. I figured he could always add more sauce (or more chillis). It’s not that easy to take the spice away though!

So how to go about making the Piri Piri Sauce. Start by peeling and roughly chopping the onions and the garlic. They’re going in the food processor anyway so the chopping doesn’t need to be neat. Next, juice and zest the lemon.

Then, in a food processor add the onions, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, apple cider vinegar, chilli flakes, smoked paprika, dried oregano and birdseye chilli. Blitz into a paste and then add the olive oil, bit by bit until you have achieved the right consistency. You are looking for a thin paste but you don’t want it too liquid as it needs to stick to the meat you are coating it with. Season well with salt and black pepper.

The sauce will keep in the fridge for up to about 3 days so you can make it in advance if you need to. A few hours before you are ready to cook, smear half of the paste onto the meat or fish and leave to marinate. Then, baste the meat with the rest of the sauce during the cooking process.

This made enough to marinade an entire spatchcocked chicken (Click here for the recipe!) with some extra to baste it with and a bit leftover to use a dip for the cooked chicken!

It took me straight back to long sunny lunches on holiday in the Algarve! That spicy, smoky taste – there really is nothing like it. Next time though I’m going to try it on some Prawns! Gambas Piri Piri here we come! You could even use it to marinate fish or pork or steaks (or even veggies if you’re vegetarian or vegan)! It was (almost) as good as the best Piri-Piri restaurant in Portugal, Marufos (known as the Chicken Shack).

If, like Dan, you like a little more fire in your sauce, you can add more or less birdseye chillis or chipotle chilli flakes, depending on how spicy you like it. You could even use chilli oil instead of olive oil if you want it extra firey. Don’t forget, the heat does mellow as it cooks so it won’t be as spicy as it tastes when it’s raw.

Summer on a plate!