Peri Peri chicken makes for a super tender and flavorful chicken dinner! Easy to make and bursting with flavor!
All over England I saw ads for this mysterious peri peri chicken(or piri-piri chicken). Restaurants boldly announced this dish on their posters and one in particular Nando’s seems to specialize in all things peri peri.
I had to get to the bottom of this.
Piri Piri is actually an African bird’s eye chili grown in East and Southern Africa but officially piri piri sauce hails from Portugalย and is made from crushed chillies, citrus peel, onion, garlic, pepper, salt, lemon juice, bay leaves, paprika, pimiento, basil, oregano, and tarragon.
Sounds like a good mix of flavors to me.
Instead of trying this dish at one of the many establishments offering it I decided to make my own version at the apartment we were renting with my parents in Edinburgh. My parents’ visit consisted mostly of hotels and b&bs with only a few final days in an apartment so I was ready to get some good cooking in.
While backpacking does not allow the luxury of lugging around an entire spice cabinet I luckily found a pre mixed bag of peri peri spices at the local store.
Score.
With a few added fresh ingredients this peri peri chicken dinner would be on the table in no time.
After marinating in lemon juice and the spice mix the chicken is simply bursting with flavor with just a bit of heat. After letting it marinate in the fridge for a bit I baked the chicken thighs and drumsticks in the oven and this made for a perfect dinner.
This peri peri chicken is perfect served with a side salad or rice. If you can find the peri peri spice mix this recipe is super easy to make, but next time I’ll try making the spice mix from scratch myself so stay tuned!
Let me know what you think of this peri peri chicken in the comments below:
Simple yet delicious peri peri chicken dish bursting with flavors and an extra kick.
- 1 packet peri peri spice mix or make your own using paprika, garlic, onion, oregano, ground cumin, chili powder, thyme, chili flakes
- 8 chicken thigh fillets or mix of thighs and drumsticks, breasts, wings, etc
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 inch piece of ginger chopped
- 1 lemon zested
- 5 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 lemon cut into wedges (for serving)
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Wash and dry the chicken and score each piece several times. In a bowl combine chicken, and spice mix.
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Add garlic, ginger, lemon zest and salt. Mix.
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Add olive oil and lemon juice. Mix until chicken is thoroughly coated,
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Place in fridge for 1-2 hours (or more).
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Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a single layer place chicken on a roasting tray and cook for 15 minutes. Flip chicken over and cook for another 15 minutes or until cooked through.
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Serve with lemon wedges and salad.
Amy says
This looks delicious!